Love Unexpected
by gstrick14
Summary: Regina Mills lost her husband two years ago and is still struggling to cope. When Emma Swan, her son's lively new soccer coach, comes into the picture, they hit it off almost immediately. Will Regina let the blonde's past come between them or will the younger woman become her saving grace?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

"Goodnight Henry." Regina Mills whispered to her son as she pulled his Superman covers over his body and gently kissed his forehead.

"Night Mommy." The small boy mumbled back with sleepy eyes, resting his head against his pillow. Forcing a smile, Regina Mills stood from her son's bedside and turned out his light before quietly exiting his room.

As the door slipped shut behind her and she started down the hallway to her much larger bedroom, the normally well-composed woman felt her resolve quickly slipping away. With slightly cloudy eyes, she stepped into her large master bathroom and began stripping her clothes off for a shower. The next day, July 12, would bring the two-year anniversary of her husband's death. When the brunette stepped into the shower and felt the water run over her body, the memories flooded back as if it happened only yesterday.

 _"Henry! Let's pick up these toys. Daddy will be home any minute and we need to have dinner." Regina called to her three-year-old son, who was sitting cross-legged in front of the couch surrounded by toy dinosaurs. Knowing he would unlikely start the process on his own, the boy's mother moved over and kneeled down in front of him._

 _"Mama!" the toddler grinned when he saw her and reached out for his mother to hold him._

 _"Oh, you're so lucky you're cute." Unable to resist, Regina picked up her son and cradled him to her chest. "I love you so much, my handsome prince." she whispered into his hair and carried him to the kitchen. The twenty-nine-year-old got her son a cup of juice and took a seat at the table with him in her lap, perfectly content to bond for a few minutes until his father returned._

 _The minutes ticked by and slowly turned to an hour. Regina grew worried. Her husband was never late. After making quick work of feeding her now extremely cranky son, she called her husband… several times. "What the hell?" the brunette mumbled to herself, her son now nearly asleep on her shoulder. As if on cue, there was a knock on her door._

 _Knowing her husband would never knock before entering his own home, Regina warily approached the door. On the other side stood two police officers and the woman's heart quickly dropped. She clutched her son closer._

 _"Excuse me, ma'am. Are you the wife of Mr. Nicholas Walsh?" the taller of the two spoke. Although the big-time lawyer had never legally changed her last name, everyone who knew her personally called her by that of her husband's._

 _"Yes, officer. Is something wrong?"_

 _"There's been an accident. You might want to come with us."_

The tears fell at full force as the grieving woman shut off the water and wrapped herself in a towel. She decided against drying her hair and instead slipped her pajamas on and crawled into bed. Lifting an old family photo off of her nightstand, Regina sighed deeply. "I miss you every day." she whispered, looking into the deep brown eyes of the man she undeniably still loved. Cradling the small frame against her chest, the beautiful brunette eventually fell into a restless sleep.

* * *

"MOMMY!" Loud words drew Regina from her sleep the following morning. "You're here!" her bed dipped with the weight of her son and she soon felt him crawl on top of her.

Groaning as she sat up, the widow couldn't help but smile at her son, who was now sitting on her chest. "Surprise, little prince. Mommy is home all day." She spoke softly to her son. Henry was used to waking up to his babysitter on Friday mornings, but due to the date Regina decided to take the day off. Although she did not want to discuss this in detail with her young son, she also didn't want to let the day pass without paying her former love a visit. "What do you say we go see Daddy later?" Her words were soft, nervous almost.

"Okay." Henry nodded, still not old enough to understand much about his father except for the fact he was not alive. "We can take Daddy a flower… and then you can take me to soccer practice." the boy grinned.

Regina smiled. Her son had recently started playing on a recreational soccer team and had fallen in love immediately. "That sounds perfect my love."

Later that afternoon, after their visit to the cemetery and then Granny's diner to see Henry's Aunt Ruby, it was finally time for Regina to take her son to practice. As his mother drove him across town, Henry rambled on about his coach. "I'll have to meet this woman." the brunette made a mental note to herself; only then realizing this would be the first time she dropped her son off at practice. Not that she hadn't wanted to, four o'clock on Friday afternoons just wasn't a great time for her. After all, they had only been practicing for a few weeks and Regina had already promised herself _never_ to miss an actual game.

When they arrived at the soccer field, Regina barely had time to blink before her son was out of the car, ball in hand. She quickly pulled her keys from the ignition and hurried out of her black Mercedes to catch up to him. "Henry! Get back here, young man." she said in a rather stern voice and closed her door. She was just rounding the front of her car when she heard a stranger's voice.

"Woah there, bud, I think someone is calling you." a blonde woman spoke, stopping Henry in his tracks.

"EMMA!" the young boy exclaimed, a 1000-watt smile covering his face. The woman placed her hand on Henry's shoulder.

"Hi, little man. I'm glad to see you! You better listen to your mama when she calls you though. She's the boss."

Finally reaching the spot where her son stood with the woman Regina assumed was his coach, she let out an exasperated sigh. Deciding not to argue with Henry at that moment, she gave him a simple warning. "Please be more careful next time, baby boy."

Henry nodded in agreement before turning to the blonde woman again. "Emma, this is my mommy." he explained proudly.

"I see, buddy." The woman spoke as Regina gave her a quick once over. She was tall, at least four or five inches taller than Regina herself. She was also quite skinny and had very long legs, clad in the same protective gear that her son was wearing. Long blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she wore simple black athletic shorts underneath what the older woman assumed was an old high school soccer t-shirt. "Why don't you go shoot some practice goals with the other boys and let me talk to your mama for a second?" The young boy quickly nodded and was off again.

"Hi, I'm Emma Swan." The leggy blonde started. "You must be the kid's mom." She flashed Regina what could only be described as a flirty smile and slyly looked over the woman in front of her over. Having taken full advantage of her day off, the lawyer was sporting black yoga pants, sneakers, and a red t-shirt; a very rare occurrence even though the blonde wasn't aware of it yet. Her dark hair framed her face and she had on minimal makeup, even foregoing her usual bright red lipstick.

"Regina Mills." The very confident older woman spoke, offering Henry's coach her hand. "It's nice to finally put a face to the name. My son can't seem to stop talking about you." In all honesty, she could see why.

"All good things, I hope." The blonde joked as she returned the handshake. "The kid talks about his mom all the time too… however, he did fail to mention that she's a supermodel." The coach flashed a toothy smile as a slight blush crept onto Regina's cheeks.

"Far from it, Ms. Swan. Do you mind if I stay and watch my son practice?" The brunette asked hopefully, brown eyes wide as they looked into blue ones.

"Well, most of the time I like parents to wait until a little later in the season to watch practice. Makes for less distraction." Emma started, but the sad look that crossed the other woman's face was enough to make her throw that thought out the window. "… but I think I can make an exception just this once."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

The following Tuesday was Henry's first soccer game, which he had reminded his mother of several times on her way to drop him off at kindergarten. Regina had phoned her closest friend, Ruby Lucas, the night before and she agreed to pick Henry up from school that afternoon as well as take him to his game. When they arrived at her son's school, Regina walked him in and kissed his forehead before allowing him to run off to his classroom. After exiting Storybrooke Elementary, the well-dressed brunette made her way back to her car and drove across town for an early meeting she was not at all looking forward to.

Arriving at the soccer field only moments before the game was scheduled to start, Regina locked her car doors and made her way to the bleachers as quickly as she could without allowing her heels to sink into the dirt.

"Hey, sexy lady." The lawyer heard as she approached the rest of the parents. Glancing up to see her best friend Ruby, she smiled. "Interesting outfit for a soccer game."

"I didn't have the time to change. My meeting went WAY over." She was still clad in a black pencil skirt, heels, and a white top; the summer heat having encouraged her to leave her blazer in the car. Taking a seat beside her friend, Regina immediately looked to the field to find her son. They locked eyes and a smile spread over the small boy's features as he began to wave at his mother. He was shaken from his trance as the referee blew his whistle, signaling the game to start.

"Have you met hottie soccer coach yet?" the taller brunette asked after the first half, drawing Regina out of her deep focus on the game. In all honesty, she knew nothing about soccer. It was enough that her son was on the field and looked to be having the time of his life.

"I met her on Friday. She's nice" Regina bit her lip, her eyes travelling across the field to the blonde on the sidelines.

"She's hot." The waitress stated, smirking as she realized exactly what her friend's gaze was on. "Looks pretty single to me. Think you can manage to get her number on your own or should I put on the charm?"

"Ruby Lucas!" Regina scolded in a tone very similar to the one she used with Henry when he misbehaved. "I do not date women." She mumbled, causing Ruby to choke back a laugh.

"Regina Mills!" the taller woman mocked. "That is bullshit and you know it." It was true. Regina was attracted to women. When the two were in high school, she even had a girlfriend. The relationship only came to an end when her mother, Cora Mills, found out. Cora had harshly reminded her daughter that successful women did not sneak around dating other women. Not being one to ever disobey her mother, Regina had reluctantly ended the relationship and did her best to never look back. In the end, it wasn't too hard. She met her husband during her freshman year in college and he rescued her from the awful woman who raised her. Between two years of dating and eight of being married, it no longer mattered whether or not women attracted her. Nicholas was everything she needed. "You're thirty-one years old. Cora can't control you anymore."

"Old habits die hard." The shorter woman mumbled, wearily resting her head on her best friend's shoulder. Her thoughts shifted to her late husband. "Last week made two years…" These words came out in an even softer voice and Ruby needed no explanation to understand them.

She wrapped her arm around the smaller woman's shoulders. "Henry told me you guys went to visit." She spoke softly as if a louder volume would cause Regina to break. "He would want you to be happy, honey."

"I know…" she sighed and bit her lip. "She's really pretty, Rubes."

Before the other woman could respond, Regina was up out of her seat, cheering and clapping as her son received the ball and headed towards the goal. "Go Henry!" she shouted as he took a shot. It was stopped by the goalie, but Regina couldn't have cared less. She loved her son and would be proud of him even if he was the worst athlete on the planet.

It wasn't long before the game ended and Henry's team won 3-1. Although the young Mills did not score any goals, he played well and Emma could not have asked for a better first match. "Alright, everybody line up to shake hands and then meet me on the sideline." The blonde instructed her young players and watched as they did just what she asked. When they were all huddled together at the corner of the field, she began her speech. "Okay guys, I am very proud of each and every one of you. Congratulations on winning the game, but even more so for having good sportsmanship."

"What's sportsmanship?" A girl by the name of Anna asked. Emma looked around to see confusion on most of their faces and decided to explain herself.

"Sportsmanship means that we are always kind to the players on the other team, even if we lose. I expect you guys to keep that up all season. Understand?" Her question was met with sixteen small nods. "Good, now we are all going to run one lap around the field. Then you can all go find your moms and let them know we are practicing Thursday and Friday this week." Her words were met with a few soft groans but none of the children verbally protested. "Last one there is a rotten egg." She told her kids with a wide smile and dashed off down the sideline. Giggling, they all followed her; when the lap was completed, they returned to their parents with smiling faces.

Emma had spoken to a few parents and was just gathering up her things when someone cleared their throat behind her. Hearing this, she quickly turned around and was met with a newly familiar face. "Regina," she stated with a smile. "Is there something I can help you with?" Her mouth nearly dropped when she realized how sexy the brunette looked in her professional attire. It was obvious the woman had money and she dripped confidence.

The blonde's mind was just beginning to wonder as Regina spoke up. "Nothing in particular, Miss Swan. I just wanted to come thank you personally for what you're doing for these children. From what I've heard, they all adore you and their parents feel the same. Also, Henry is thoroughly enjoying himself."

"It's no problem at all. I love doing this for them. Honestly, I wish I'd had a positive environment like this when I was their age. I think it's important." In reality, Emma didn't have much of a positive environment to grow up in at all. She was bounced between foster homes her whole life, rejected by her fair share of potential adoptive parents, and forced to see the horrors of the world way too soon. When she turned seventeen, some trouble with a foster father pushed her into the world of David Nolan, a Maine cop, and his wife Mary Margaret. The two helped her through her troubled past and adopted her. At the age of eighteen, the blonde woman was given her first real home and, like her parents did for her, she wanted to make a difference. As a result, after high school she entered the police academy and started coaching soccer.

"You're right. What you're doing for them is very important." Regina nodded her head. "Henry has always talked about learning a sport. I, however, was not blessed with any athletic abilities."

Emma smiled at that. "Well, Henry is quite the little soccer player for his age." The blonde admitted, glancing past Regina to where Henry and Ruby were kicking the ball back and forth in front of the now empty bleachers. "Is that woman his mother also?" She asked but regretted it immediately. The chances of someone as sexy and well put together as the woman in front of her actually being interested in woman were slim to none. Or so Emma thought.

"That is my best friend Ruby. I am a single woman, Miss Swan." The older woman said with a slight smirk, surprising herself with the amount of confidence she had while flirting for the first time since her husband.

Before the blonde could formulate and answer, a voice she recognized as Henry's interrupted them. "Mommy! Me and Ruby are hungry!" he called loudly across the soccer field.

"Ruby and I." his mother shouted back, earning a laugh from Emma but a scowl from her son. She turned back to face Emma with a small smile. "I should probably feed them before they both get ridiculously cranky." She said with a slight roll of her eyes. "We'll see you soon, Miss Swan."

"Emma." The blonde said with a smile. "Miss Swan makes me feel like I've just been caught doing something wrong."

"Very well, Emma. Take care."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Thursday afternoon came quickly and found Emma in her father's office eating a lunch Mary Margaret had sent for the two of them. The blonde woman loved her adoptive parents more than anything. They were the only people in the world who actually cared about her. They truly did rescue her, and the she could not be more grateful.

"So, how are you kid? I know you've been busy lately, but we miss you. If you're not careful your mother is going to drop by here to see you one of these days. I hate to say it, but that would be a little embarrassing, Swan." David Nolan spoke with a smile.

"I know I need to spend some time with her. Things have just been really busy between work and soccer with the kids. I promise to call her and make plans this weekend."

"I'll hold you to that, kid." The tall blonde man spoke. The two of them finished their late lunch with light conversation and soon it was time for Emma to clock out.

* * *

Glancing down at her watch, Regina groaned internally. Her boss roped her into a "quick" meeting to discuss a possible future merger and it had been dragging on for two hours already. It was nearly six and her son would be out of practice soon. She had hoped to make him a healthy dinner that night, but at the pace things were going she would have to pick up something for them on the way home. Just as the brunette was beginning to turn her focus back to the scene in front of her, she heard the buzz of her cell coming from her purse. A phone call.

"Something more important you need to attend to, Miss Mills?" Her boss asked, his words dripping with sarcasm. Regina quickly pulled her phone from her purse and glanced down at the screen. It was the number Emma exchanged with all of the parents at the beginning of the season. 'So much for calling the babysitter first.' Regina thought to herself.

"I am very sorry sir, but this is my son's soccer coach. He may have been hurt at practice. May I step out for a second?" Mr. Gold offered her a curt nod and she exited the conference room as quickly as she could.

"Yes, Miss Swan?" The lawyer spoke in a very displeased tone.

"Uh, hi Regina." The tall blonde started, slightly intimidated by the greeting. "Henry's babysitter was a little late picking him up from practice. I called her first as you requested on the forms. Apparently, she had a family emergency and can't make it to pick him up."

Regina could feel a headache coming on as the words sank in. She let out a long sigh and prepared to hang up and call Ruby. In another moment dawned on her that her best friend had left earlier that morning for a long weekend away with her newest fling.

"Regina?" Emma's voice came through the phone again when the older woman did not respond.

"Shit, I'm sorry Miss Swan. My boss informed me when I came in this morning we would have a late meeting. I was counting on Sarah to pick him up and Ruby is away for the weekend." Her words were laced with stress and the other woman picked up on it immediately. "I will go inform my him that I must be going… and hope I don't get fired." Regina thought the last part to herself.

"If your meeting is urgent I can entertain the kid." Emma offered nonchalantly. "I have no plans for the evening and he's definitely no trouble. We'll go for dinner."

At those words, relief washed over the worried woman on the other end of the line. "Are you sure that isn't too much to ask, Miss Swan?"

"Of course not. Just text me when you're through with your meeting and I'll let you know where we are." The brunette thanked her son's coach in a quick but sincere manner before bidding her goodbye and heading back to her meeting.

"Alright kid, looks like it's just you and me until your mom gets off work. What do you say we go get something to eat?" Emma asked the five-year-old in front of her.

"Yeah! Can we go to Granny's?" the small boy answered excitedly. Despite the fact that he and his mother went there all the time to see his Aunt Ruby, she always insisted he eat healthy. However, Henry was sure he could talk his coach into a burger and milkshake.

"Sure, bud. Get your stuff and come on." Henry gathered up his things quickly and followed Emma over to her strange yellow car. "Hop in." the blonde instructed as she unlocked the doors and the boy did just that. He put his drawstring bag under his feet and quickly buckled his seatbelt. Henry spoke to her about anything and everything as Emma made the short drive across town to the diner she'd been to only a handful of times with her mother and father. As Henry had hoped, Emma agreed to his choice of dinner and even ordered the same for herself. The two had a nice meal filled with talk of soccer, superheroes, and a certain brunette who seemed to occupy both of their minds.

* * *

It was nearly nine by the time Regina finally managed to get away from the _very_ lengthy discussion which had taken up her whole afternoon. As she stood up from her chair and stretched her legs for the first time in hours, the lawyer let out a tired sigh. "Thank God." She murmured to herself and reached down to pull out her cell phone, immediately typing a quick text to Emma.

' **Meeting finally over. What did you and Henry get up to?'** she made her way to her office to gather the remainder of her things and finally went out to her car. Just as she closed the door, her phone buzzed with Emma's response.

' _We had dinner at Granny's and now we're back at my place. The kid knocked out a few minutes ago.'_ The message was followed by Emma's address. Satisfied she knew where she was going, Regina started her car and began the drive. Within ten minutes she was outside of the blonde's building and she took the time to type another message.

' **I'm outside. Which apartment are you?"**

' _422\. Never had a supermodel in my apartment before.'_

' **Guess there's a first time for everything. No flash photography please.'** Regina smirked slightly to herself and made her way inside the apartment building.

Emma was sitting in front of her tv, legs kicked up on her coffee table when her new acquaintance knocked on the door. The blonde stood up and made her way over; suddenly very aware of the fact that she was still in her practice clothes and probably looked a mess. Showering had crossed her mind, but she soon thought better of leaving the brunette's child unattended. After all, the woman was rather intimidating.

"Hi, Regina. Come on in." The younger woman said with a smile and backed up to let her by.

"Good evening, Miss Swan." Regina stepped passed after returning the smile.

"You know, eventually I'm just going to stop answering to that."

"My apologies, Emma." The very professional brunette spoke. Emma's mouth watered as she took in Regina's body in a tight black dress.

"Can I get you some coffee?" The words fell out of her mouth when she finally managed to tear her eyes away from Regina's backside.

"After the day I had today I could use something much stronger than coffee."

Those words earned a smile from the blonde. "Well, as much as I would like to help you with that, you have to drive home after this. Considering I am the law, I cannot encourage driving under the influence ma'am." Emma finished with a wink.

Regina nearly moaned at the words. She'd always had a thing for cops. "Well, officer, maybe this is just part of my master plan to get myself handcuffed by you." She flirted right back, the words coming out with utmost confidence even though her stomach was turning on the inside. She felt the blonde step dangerously closer and her heart sped up.

"How about I make you that coffee and then you can tell me all about your desire to be restrained?" A smirk spread across the tall woman's lips and Regina could only nod. Never before had someone rendered her speechless. "The living room is right through there. Take a seat, I'll only be a few minutes."

The brunette did as she was told; taking a seat on end of Emma's leather couch and crossing her legs. She carefully observed the room around her. It was simple – furniture and a television. Regina could not help but notice that the only photograph in the room was of the blonde standing between a tall man and a woman with black, pixie-cut hair. 'Friends maybe.' She thought. The two didn't look quite old enough to be Emma's parents. Before her thoughts could wonder any further, the apartment's owner placed two cups of coffee on the table and took a seat next to her.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"You have a nice place here." Regina kindly complimented. "How was Henry? On his best behavior I hope."

"The kid was an angel. We had dinner and then came back here. He had me watching something about fairy tales but he was snoring after half an hour of it."

"What did he have for dinner?" Regina's motherly instincts took over.

"Well… I think salad is the answer I'll stick with." Emma said sheepishly, unsure how the older woman would react to what the two actually ate. By the looks of her body Emma knew she either had to be a health nut or a gym fanatic like the blonde herself.

Regina let out a small laugh. "You can tell me the truth, I don't bite sweetheart."

Emma bit her lip but could not hold back a smile. "A burger and a chocolate milkshake."

Smiling, the brunette picked up her coffee and took a sip. "Well, Emma, maybe tomorrow after your practice I can make you a _real_ dinner? As a thank you for taking care of my son tonight."

"Are you asking me on a date?" Emma raised her eyebrow.

The older woman laughed and shook her head. "I am simply offering to make you dinner, Miss Swan. If you want a date with me, you'll be the one doing the asking."

The confidence in the brunette's voice was enough to cause a stirring between Emma's legs. This woman was unlike anyone she'd ever met before. She was beautiful and intelligent and beyond sexy. "Better let me see how good your cooking is first."

The two continued on in that manner for a bit longer until Regina glanced down at her watch. Deciding it was past time she get Henry home, the older woman excused herself and went to rouse her son. After bidding Emma goodbye, she carried the tired boy out to her car and buckled him in. Arriving back at their large home, Regina carried him inside and helped him into pajamas before finally tucking him into bed. The brunette made her way down the hall to her own bedroom and changed quickly before slipping between her silk sheets. Sleep did not come easy that night for Regina could not get a certain soccer coach off of her mind.

* * *

 **Please review and let me know what you guys think. I am also open to suggestions. Happy reading!**

 ***** I do not own Once Upon a Time or its characters**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

The next morning, Regina was pulled from her sleep by the sound of her cell phone blaring from her nightstand. She let out a loud groan and pulled her pillow over her head, wondering who could possibly be calling her at such an ungodly hour. The tired woman reached blindly over and grabbed the device from where she'd left it the night before. "May I help you?" she mumbled unhappily.

"Good morning sunshine." The unusually perky voice of her best friend came through the phone. This surprised the shorter brunette. Anyone who knew Ruby well knew that she was not a morning person.

"What the hell are you doing up so early? New girl must be one hell of a lay." Although she was less than thrilled about the wake-up call, Regina could not deny the fact that she missed the taller woman already.

Ruby let out a satisfied groan. "Best sex I've ever had." This made Regina slightly jealous. It had been a long time and Emma did things to her she could not begin to explain. "Bet Blondie would be better though. You should really hop on that."

"She and I are having dinner tonight, actually."

"No way! You and soccer coach are going on a date?"

"Not a date, I'm making dinner for her and Henry here." At her own mention of her son, Regina glanced over to the alarm clock on her nightstand. It was a few minutes before seven and she needed to get herself and her son dressed for the day. "Speaking of Henry, I have to go get him ready for school. I'll text tonight after dinner, okay?"

"Sounds good, G. Talk soon."

The two friends finished their farewells and Regina finally climbed out of bed. She went for a quick shower and dressed herself in her usual professional attire. Before making her way down the hall to her son's room, the lawyer stopped to examine herself in the mirror. Dressed in a royal blue dress, black stockings, and matching heels, Regina had to admit to herself that she good. She took her time applying her usual red lipstick and, once she was satisfied with her appearance, went to wake Henry.

"Good morning, my little prince. Time to get up." The older brunette took a seat on the edge of her son's bed and gently ran her fingers through his hair. He groaned slightly and buried himself completely under the covers. "Come on, my Henry. The faster we start our day the faster you get to go to school and then soccer." These words were enough to get the five-year-old on his feet and he nearly ran to his closet. The two ate a quick breakfast together before Regina dropped him off at school and made her way to the courthouse.

For the first time in months, court adjourned early, and the brunette found some time to herself. There were still two hours before she needed to pick up her son. Deciding to take advantage of it, Regina went to get herself a manicure and eyebrow waxing. While she often made it a habit in her spare time, that trip was mostly for the sake of impressing the blonde she'd be seeing later.

By the time she'd finished pampering herself, there was just enough time for the brunette to make her way to Henry's school before dismissal. She picked him up at precisely three o'clock and the two went for a quick meal; Regina settling on a salad and Henry choosing an ice cream cone since he had eaten had lunch at school. Afterwards, the two found themselves on a walk in the park where the young boy told his mother all about his day. When it was almost time for his soccer practice, they headed home to allow Henry to change.

When they arrived at the field something was different. Instead of Emma standing at the field's entrance to greet her players, it was a tall man with a head of dark brown hair. Regina and Henry both raised an eyebrow at the sight, curious as to where their favorite blonde was.

"Mommy, where is Emma?" The younger of the two voiced what they were both thinking.

"I'm not sure, Henry. Get your things and we'll go see."

The boy quickly grabbed his bag and ball before exiting his mother's Mercedes. His usual excitement had faded significantly, he reached up to take Regina's hand as they walked.

"You must be Regina and Henry." The dark-haired male greeted the two as they approached.

"That is correct." The brunette affirmed, speaking in the same tone she used in court. "And you are?"

"August." The stranger introduced himself. "'Emma got caught up at work this afternoon and really hated to cancel on the kids, so she called to ask if I could help her out."

"Well it's nice to meet you, August." Regina spoke up and nudged her son slightly. The youngster mumbled a quick "Hello" before running off to join his teammates.

"Likewise. I think a lot of the parents are staying to observe practice today if you'd like to join them." August motioned to the bleachers where several parents were already seated.

"Thank you." The lawyer nodded and soon found herself seated amongst the group. She overheard a couple of the other mothers gossiping about how attractive they found August and rolled her eyes. Sure, he was attractive, but nothing compared to the blonde she was having dinner with later that night… or at least she hoped they were still on for dinner. With that thought, she decided to send Emma a text.

 **'Hi, I see you aren't at practice. Do we need to reschedule dinner?'**

A response came quickly.

 _'Hi. I was just about to text you. I got caught up at the hospital with my partner, but I can definitely make it to dinner. Did you have a time in mind?'_

 **'How about seven?'**

 _'It's a date (:'_

Regina smirked slightly as she read the response and decided to leave the blonde with no reply.

* * *

"Stop and put your hands where I can see them." Emma shouted, gun aimed perfectly at the man she and her partner had recently discovered to be guilty of armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. Earlier that morning, Jack Anderson had broken into a bakery owned by an elderly man of the community. He forced the man to unlock his safe and then knocked him unconscious with his pistol. Though they were not quick enough to catch the criminal in action, his crime was far from perfect. Mr. Anderson was caught on several street security cameras and managed to leave his fingerprints all over the bakery.

Startled, Jack turned and made a quick break down an alley. Gun in hand, he made his way through it, dodging a few trash cans and pushing them over to delay the blonde. It took a few minutes but he finally lost her. Smirking to himself, the criminal stopped to catch a short breath.

"Shouldn't have stopped, asshole." He heard a man's voice behind him and turned just in time to see Emma's partner, Daniel right behind him. Seconds later, a shot rang out and someone fell to the ground.

Emma emerged from the alley to a horrific sight. Her partner was on the ground, shot in the abdomen. Jack had yet to spot her, and adrenaline quickly took over. The blond tackled him to the ground and his gun flew across the sidewalk. The backup she'd requested finally arrived and exited their cruisers with weapons out. Emma cuffed the man underneath her and roughly passed him off to another officer.

She hurried to check on Daniel and sirens screamed in the distance. He was injured, but alive. Another female cop was already holding pressure to the wound and the next few minutes passed in a haze. Before Emma knew it, the ambulance she'd insisted on riding in with her partner arrived at the hospital and he was rushed out of the back.

A very worried blonde sat in the waiting room for hours. Her nerves were rattled; she couldn't think straight. Glancing down at her phone, the blonde nearly panicked. Her soccer practice was scheduled to start in thirty minutes and there was no way she was leaving until she knew Daniel was okay.

She quickly typed a message to her friend August. The two met in a foster home when they were twelve and had been best friends ever since. They shared a love of soccer and even had the privilege of playing on the same team for most of high school. Until Emma's parents, he had been the only person to ever have her back. Naturally, her former foster brother agreed, and she gave him a call – filling him in on a few things and thanking him profusely before hanging up.

Reclaiming her seat in one of the uncomfortable waiting room chairs, a certain brunette suddenly crossed her mind. The blonde removed her phone from her pocket once again and was just typing out a text when someone cleared their throat. "Is there someone here for Daniel Cooke?"

Looking up, Emma answered quickly. His wife and mother should be here any minute. I'm his partner." She stood up and approached the doctor in the white coat. "Is he okay? Is he alive?"

The doctor sighed softly and nodded. "He will be just fine. The bullet missed all of his major organs and arteries. He lost a lot of blood, but he should see a complete recovery."

Hearing this news, tears of relief sprung to Emma's eyes. "Can I see him?"

"Of course. Right this way." The older man led her down the halls and to the room that held her partner and close friend. Her heart sank a little when she saw how fragile he looked surrounded by monitors. She took a seat next to him and held his hand, deciding to wait until his family arrived before leaving.

A few minutes later, her phone buzzed. Regina. "Shit." She mumbled to herself. The older woman probably thought she was bailing on her. The two texted back and forth for a while. Emma was surprised at herself when the brunette's replies stopped but she continued to check her phone anyways. She usually blew through women by the week and not one had ever caught her attention the way Regina did.

* * *

It was around five when soccer practice was dismissed and Henry came running over with his new friend Eric. The two had been growing closer over the weeks and Regina knew that her son had cooked up a plan by the look on his face. "Hi, mommy." The two said in unison. Eric's mother was seated not far from Henry's. "Can I stay the night with Eric?"

"-yeah! Can he mom?" Henry's new friend encouraged.

The brunette looked over at the other boy's mother and gave a soft smile. "I think you and Eric might need to check with his mom first."

The petite blonde woman returned her smile and then gave a slight nod. "If the boys want to have a sleepover, that's fine with me."

Regina was sure her son had forgotten all about dinner with Emma, but she didn't want to ruin his fun. After all, Eric was the first child her son had shown interest in and she thought it would be good for him to have a friend. "Are you sure, Kathryn?"

"Of course. Henry is never any trouble. I can pick him up from your house if he needs to go home and get clothes."

Regina nodded and the two women worked out a few small details before heading to their respective cars. Henry could barely contain his excitement when they arrived home and ran upstairs to pack his bag. Not much to her surprise, his mother had to repack most of it for him while he was picking out which toys to take with him. Before she knew it, Kathryn had picked up Henry and she was left home alone.

The thought of her son being away from overnight for the first time caused a bit of unease and she decided to focus on dinner instead. The lawyer had originally expected her son to be joining them, so she was cooking two of his favorites – lasagna and apple pie. She hoped Emma was okay with that. Glancing at the large grandfather clock in the corner, Regina decided to get started on the meal.

* * *

When Emma left the hospital, she was nothing short of exhausted. She got into her police cruiser and glanced at the clock on the dash. 6:28. The blonde groaned inwardly at the fact she had no time to change or go get her car. "Hope Regina likes the cop thing as much as she says." She mumbled under her breath and quickly put the other woman's address in her phone to retrieve directions. It was twenty minutes across town; just enough time for Emma to get there and change into the spare work shirt she kept in her back seat. It looked exactly like the other one but at least it was clean.

As she pulled into the driveway of Regina's rather extravagant home, the blonde was a bit surprised. She knew the other woman was rich, but with a house like that one she had to be even more well off than Emma first imagined. Reaching into her backseat, she grabbed her extra shirt and changed quickly. Then finally, after a day that seemed to drag on for a million years, she headed to the brunette's front door. After taking a breath she reached up to knock.

"Good evening, Miss Swan." The stunning brunette said after swinging her front door open. A charming smile graced her lips and for a moment Emma was speechless. Regina had exchanged her blue dress for a sparkly red one that hugged her curves in all the right places. Black stockings and heels completed the outfit and her makeup was done perfectly.

"Hi." Emma finally squeaked out after a few seconds. "Regina you look amazing."

"You aren't so bad yourself, officer. Have you come to arrest me?" Regina's eyes raked over the blonde's body as she spoke. After snapping out of her trance, she finally backed up to allow her guest in.

"Maybe I have." Emma says with a slight nod as she steps in past the shorter woman. "You have a beautiful home."

"Thank you. By the way, I'm afraid it's just the two of us tonight. Henry and Eric are having a sleepover." She said, hopeful that Emma would be okay with that.

The blonde smiled and caught the shorter woman's eyes. "That's perfectly fine. I'm glad the little guy has made a friend." Taking a moment to smell the air, Emma suddenly remembered that she had not eaten all day. "It smells amazing in here. What did you make for dinner?"

"Lasagna and apple pie, both Henry's favorites. I hope that is alright with you."

"It's perfect. I'm starving." The blonde replied.

"Well I guess I better get you fed then." Regina smiled and led the other woman into her kitchen. "Would you like a beer? Glass of wine? Something stronger?"

"No thank you. I'm on call tonight but you go ahead." The taller woman said with a smile. It wasn't long before the two settled down to dinner, Regina with a glass of expensive wine and Emma with a glass of water.

"Shit, Regina. This is amazing." The blonde said after a few bites of the older woman's lasagna.

Regina could not help but chuckle. "Why thank you, Miss Swan. Although I do hope you don't express yourself with such bold language in front of my son." Her words earned a smile from the woman across the table and the two continued their banter throughout dinner.

After their meal, the women ended up side by side on Regina's sofa. It was not either of their idea in particular, but they definitely were not ready to part so soon after eating. Emma held a cup of coffee in her hands while the brunette clutched her third glass of wine. Although she could hold her alcohol well, she was beginning to feel the effects of it.

"So, Miss Swan, care to tell me about yourself?"

"I'm afraid there isn't much to know." The blonde said with a cheeky grin. "I'm a cop, I coach soccer for fun, I like beautiful women and I _really_ like to eat so it looks like I've found myself in a pretty good situation tonight."

A blush crept onto Regina's cheeks. "I am not beautiful." She said abruptly and then continued in a much softer voice. "However, I do love to cook. It's nice to have someone who appreciates my food around here. Henry would much rather have chocolate or something deep friend that screams high cholesterol for dinner."

Emma laughed at her words and shook her head a bit. "I haven't had food that good in years. My mom tries her best but everything she makes usually turns out at least half burnt."

"I'll make sure to never tell her you said that." Regina replied with a slight smirk. The two made small talk for a while, occasionally dipping into something deeper but Regina's slightly tipsy state was too entertaining for Emma to stay on a serious topic for long.

The older woman had just stood up to retrieve her bottle of wine from the kitchen when Emma grabbed her hand. With a burst of confidence, she stood up and pulled Regina flush against her body before pulling her in for a messy but passionate kiss.

After a few moments, the two pulled back and gazed into each other's eyes. "I want you, Emma." The brunette spoke softly. It was barely audible, but Emma heard every word. Her confidence was due almost completely to the alcohol but that did not matter at the moment. She wanted Emma Swan badly.

Their next kiss was messier and filled with an intense amount of desire. "Where's your room?" The now very turned on officer asked; all other thoughts clouded by her lust for Regina.

"Upstairs… first one… one the left." The brunette mumbled into their kiss. The two eventually made their way to the door of Regina's bedroom and the brunette moaned as she was pushed roughly against the wall. Pink lips landed on her neck and she tilted her head as she ran her fingers through the taller woman's hair. "Take me, Emma." She mumbled against the blonde's ear, surprising herself even more. Regina Mills definitely did not have sex on first dates.

At her words, Emma's warm body pulled away from hers and light eyes looked into dark ones. "Are you sure about this?"

The older woman could only nod. Her eyes were dark with lust and she reached over to turn the knob on her bedroom door. Just as she pushed it opened, Regina felt her legs move out from under her as she was lifted into strong arms. Before she knew it, she felt herself fall gently onto the middle of her bed. The tall blonde crawled over her body and placed hot kisses slowly down her neck.

"Please." Regina whimpered, biting her lip hard. She had not been touched that way in a long time and it felt amazing. Wrapping her legs around Emma's waist, she kicked her heels off onto the floor. "I need you, Emma."

Her words were all the encouragement the soccer coach needed. Pulling away, Emma pushed her hands under the edge of her partner's dress and slowly slid her black stockings down. She tossed them on the floor and went to work on Regina's dress. In a few short moments, only a pair of barely-there underwear covered the brunette's body.

Desperate to feel Emma inside of her, the older woman arched her back slightly and very slowly started to slide her panties off. The seductive actions encouraged Emma even more and she quickly took over, removing her partner's black lacy thong and tossing it onto the floor. Regina spread her legs slowly, exposing herself completely to the blonde in front of her.

"You are so sexy." She mumbled, taking no time to move between the brunette's legs and begin kissing over her thighs. Hot kisses inched their way closer to Regina's sex and she felt her arousal growing out of control. She was not usually the time to have tipsy sex with someone she barely knew, but with Emma it was exactly what her body wanted.

Pink lips finally made their way to a swollen clit and the blonde began to suck slowly on the bundle of nerves. Regina gasped and arched her back involuntarily. It had been too long. Emma was just about to make her next move when a loud, shrill noise rang out from the other woman's nightstand. Startled, she pulled away slightly and glanced up at the brunette.

Whimpering from the loss of contact, Regina threw her head back against the pillows. "Fuck." She groaned, taking a moment to compose herself before sitting up and grabbing her cell phone. Worry took over when she saw Kathryn's name flashing across the screen and she answered quickly.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Regina. I hate to bother you, but Henry isn't feeling very well. He says his stomach hurts and he feels like he may need to throw up."

Immediately switching back to mom mode, the brunette responded quickly. "Thank you for calling. I'll be there soon. Goodbye."

Glancing back up, brown eyes met a pair of very confused green ones. "That was Kathryn. Henry isn't feeling well so I have to go pick him up. I'm sorry Emma." She said sincerely, making the younger woman's eyes soften.

"Don't be sorry. I promise to make this up to you another time." The blonde rested her hand gently on Regina's bare hip and leaned in to kiss her forehead. "I'm going to step out of the room so you can get dressed, and then I am going to drive you to pick up Henry. You had a couple drinks and its best you don't get behind the wheel."

Regina's heart softened at how gentle Emma was with her. "Thank you."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

"Want me to carry him? I know sleeping kids are much heavier than they look." Emma asked Regina as she parked her police car in the driveway behind the brunette's Mercedes. The two had ridden home mostly in silence, both overcome by their own thoughts.

"If it's not too much trouble." Regina said with a small smile, biting her lip as she unbuckled her seatbelt and slowly got out of the car. She watched while the tall blonde expertly removed her son from her back seat and held him close to her body as she closed the door. Making her way up the front steps, Regina unlocked the door and allowed Emma to carry her sleeping child inside.

"Where's his bedroom?" Emma asked in a whisper.

"First room on the left side of the hallway. Thank you." The shorter woman made her way into the kitchen, deciding to thank Emma with a cup of coffee.

"He's all tucked in and fast asleep." The blonde appeared from behind Regina, running her fingers through her hair.

"Thank you so much." Regina answered with a smile, placing a fresh cup of coffee into the taller woman's hands. The two took a seat at the dining room table together. "I'm sorry that our date got interrupted, but I really do appreciate you helping me with Henry."

"Oh, so we were on a date?" A smirk graced the officer's lips as she slowly raised her cup of coffee to them. Across the table, Regina nearly choked upon realizing her choice of words. "Relax, Regina. I know didn't try to trick me into a date. However, I would like the privilege of taking you out one of these days."

Her words made the older woman smile. "I'd love that."

* * *

Between Henry not feeling well and Emma being busy with work, the two did not talk much in the days after their date. Aside from a few texts and a five-minute phone call that was interrupted by Henry emptying the contents of his stomach onto his bed, the two had not spoken at all. However, by the time the next Friday rolled around, the antsy five-year-old was feeling well enough to go to soccer practice so his mother loaded him into her Mercedes and made the drive across town.

"Alright, Henry, grab your things and come on. We're nearly late." Regina said to her son, removing the keys from her ignition and making her way out of the car. She waited for him to take her hand and together they made their way towards the field. Henry mumbled a quick goodbye to her and ran off to join his team in warm-ups. Regina took a moment to look around for the blonde that she had missed terribly and smiled when she saw her. However, her smile turned into a look of confusion when she noticed the blonde carrying a toddler in her arms.

"Regina! Hi!" her son's coach greeted her with a smile as she walked over with the young boy on her hip.

"Hello, Miss Swan. Who's this?" she asked, her curiosity peaking as she wondered if the blonde could possibly have a child she had not mentioned.

"Well, this is my brother." The taller woman answered, sounding a bit exasperated. "My parents are away for the weekend and our babysitter for the afternoon cancelled, so the little guy is joining me for soccer practice."

"Well, it looks like your parents definitely took a break between the two of you." Regina said with a smile, offering her finger to the small child who was reaching out for her. "He's beautiful, Emma."

"I was nearly eighteen when David and Mary Margaret adopted me. David is also a police officer and I got into quite a bit of trouble when I was a teenager. He was assigned to one of my cases and the rest is history I guess. Then, about two years ago, they decided to have this little guy. His name is Neal." Emma admitted calmly, glancing over at her team to see how they were handling warmups.

"Your parents sound like great people." The brunette said, also glancing over to find her son. "Would you like me to watch him while you hold practice?"

"You'd really do that?" Emma asked, releasing a sigh of relief.

"Of course, I would. I was planning to stay and watch anyway, and I'd love the company."

A few moments later, Regina was sitting on the bleachers with baby Neal in her arms. He was very well-behaved and content throughout the entire practice and the brunette found herself missing when Henry was that size. It seemed like only a few minutes had passed when Emma released practice and she and Henry started making their way over. Henry contented himself playing with the baby and Emma pulled Regina to the side.

"Hey, so I was wondering if you had any plans tomorrow night."

"I don't think so. I'm a single mother so my weekends don't usually get too exciting."

"Well, if you have the time, I wanted to finally take you out on that date." The blonde said with a sheepish smile. Luckily her face was still flushed from running so the brunette would not notice the blush creeping up her neck.

"I would love to. I just need to make sure Ruby can take Henry for the night, but she's so invested in my love life that I don't foresee that being an issue." Regina could not help but smile in spite of herself.

"Well, in that case, I'll pick you up around seven."

* * *

The following night, Regina found herself in a bit of a predicament. She had not been on a date in ten years and had no idea what to wear. Finally, after making her way through her own closet, she decided to call Ruby for reinforcement. The taller brunette entered Regina's bedroom to find her best friend staring at her bed – where every dress she owned had somehow ended up.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ruby asked with a laugh, immediately going over to look through everything her friend had removed from the closet.

"I haven't been on a first date in ten years, Ruby! I don't know how to act or what to wear and all I can seem to focus on when Emma is around is how badly I want her to continue what she started the other night." Regina threw her head back and groaned in frustration.

"Well, there's no need to worry. After I finish with you I promise Emma will barely be able to make it to the end of dinner before she jumps your bones."

"Ruby! I can't have sex with her after the first date. That's… not lady-like."

Her words caused her best friend to burst into laughter. "You know, Cora really did raise you to be extremely uptight." she teased, tears coming to her eyes as she continued her laughter. Regina's cheeks were bright red. "You are a grown ass woman and you haven't been laid in over two years! If you want to have sex with a perfectly nice, respectful, HOT woman then do it. Women like that don't come around often."

"You're right, I suppose." Regina let out a soft sigh and turned again to the ton of dresses piled on top of her mattress. "Tell me what to wear."

In less than a minute, Ruby was holding up a sparkly, backless, black dress which Regina had long forgotten was in her wardrobe. "This one with the heels you got last week. Curl your hair because that always looks hot. Do NOT try and put any sort of bra on with it. Use some damn eye shadow for once and…" she stopped speaking and went over to rummage through Regina's lingerie drawer. "wear these under it." Ruby then tossed a lacy red thong at her best friend, who caught it with a glare.

"I hope you are aware of the fact that I hate you." Regina said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm sure of it." Ruby smirked, "I'll be in Henry's room helping him pack for our sleepover." She exited quickly, leaving an extremely nervous widow to follow all of her instructions.

In just under an hour, Regina exited her bedroom wearing the outfit Ruby had chosen for her. After making her way slowly down the stairs, she found her son on the couch between Ruby and the blonde who she'd been waiting all day to see. She opened her mouth to speak, but her best friend beat her to it. "Damn, girl. You look hot… if I do say so myself." Regina glared back at the other brunette as Emma stood up from her seat and made her way over.

"You look amazing." the younger woman said, looking her up and down and smiling widely when their eyes finally met.

"You don't look so bad yourself, Miss Swan. I do believe this is the first time I've seen you in anything other than a police uniform or soccer clothing. I'm glad to see you don't always look disheveled" she said with a smirk. Emma was wearing black slacks and a white button-up shirt underneath her blazer. Her hair was pulled back, but not in the messy way that Regina usually saw it at her son's practices, and the look was completed with a pair of stylish black heels.

"I'm glad you approve." The blonde smiles again and glances at her watch. "Are you ready to get going? It's almost time for our reservation."

The brunette nods but makes her way back over to her son. "Goodnight, baby boy. Behave for Aunt Ruby please. I love you more than anything and I promise to see you first thing in the morning."

Henry stands up on the couch to give his mother a hug and in a few more moments the couple is making their way out. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do." Ruby shouts after them. Regina pulls her front door closed and rolls her eyes.

"She is utterly ridiculous." she says as the two make their way to Emma's car. The blonde only laughs and opens the car door for her date.

In fifteen minutes, they arrive in the parking lot of a new, upscale French restaurant that Regina had secretly been dying to try. "I hope this is okay with you. I've never really had French food before, but my mom said this would be a great place for a first date." A blush crept up Emma's neck as she revealed that information.

"This is perfect. French cuisine is my favorite." Regina smiled and the two finally exited the car to make their way into the restaurant.

Once they were seated, Emma ordered a bottle of wine for the two of them to share and then began looking over her menu, which she quickly realizes is not written in English. "Do you know how to read this thing?"

"I do." she glances up at Emma. "Tell me what you like, and I'll tell you what you should order."

"A steak sounds good. How come you didn't tell me that you speak French?" the blonde asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

"I hardly ever get to use it. I also speak Spanish, which I'm sure you could have guessed. I grew up with it, but learning French was one of my mother's wishes." She rolled her eyes at the thought of Cora.

"The two of you don't get along?" Emma easily picked up on Regina's reaction to her mother's name.

"She was always a bit… overbearing, but we got along. That is, until I met my husband. My mother's desire was for me to marry someone with more money than we already had, and well, Nick was a teacher."

"Was?" Emma asked, not thinking at all. Her eyes widened upon realizing what she'd asked.

Regina's face fell and she nodded. "He got into a car accident when Henry was three. They tried to save him but…" the brunette looked down at her lap, not wishing to continue any further.

Completely embarrassed for having asked such an ignorant question, Emma slowly stands up and moves over to slide into the booth next to her. "Hey, I am so sorry, Gina." she said and started to rub the older woman's back. "And I know I never met him, but he was an incredibly lucky guy to have you and Henry in his life. I know he would be so proud of you." She spoke unsurely, somewhat expecting the beautiful brunette to ask her to leave.

Instead, a teary-eyed Regina looked back up at her, a small smile playing on her lips. "Thank you." She whispered, leaning her head on the other woman's shoulder. Emma continued rubbing her back until she spoke again. "You called me Gina."

A blush crept up the blonde's neck. "Should I not have done that?"

"No one has ever called me that before. I like it." She reaches up to wipe a single tear from the corner of her left eye.

"Well, I guess you'll be my Gina from now on." The blonde says gently, placing a soft kiss on her date's cheek before returning to her side of the table.

An hour and a half later, the two found themselves on the way to Emma's car again. Their date went well, with only a slight argument over who would pay the bill. Emma eventually won, having argued that her father would kill her if he knew she took out such a beautiful woman and allowed her to buy her own meal. For the first time in over two years, Regina felt genuinely happy.

It was not long before the two arrived back at Regina's home. All too soon, they found themselves standing at the front door. After an amazing date a very hot make out session in the blonde's obnoxious car, Regina desperately wanted the blonde to come inside to finish what they had started the last time they were together. However, the feminine morals that her mother had incessantly drilled into her since she was a child made voicing such a request nearly impossible.

"What are you thinking?" Emma asked, having noticed that her counterpart was holding something back.

"Well… I don't mean to sound crass but…" Regina drew in a shaky breath, dropping their eye contact.

"Regina what's wrong? Did I do something?" A look of alarm took over the taller woman's features.

"No, no. Not at all. I was just wondering if you would like to come inside."

Not catching the cover up, a look of relief washed over Emma's features and she quickly nodded. "Of course."

Regina unlocked the door and entered, allowing Emma to follow her before shutting it. The two silently made their way into the living room and Emma took a seat on the couch.

"I apologize for the mess. Henry and Ruby obviously cannot be trusted to clean up after themselves before leaving." Regina apologized, bending over to gather up a few of her son's toys. The motion caused her dress to ride dangerously up on her thighs and Emma found her eyes glued to the sight in front of her. When she did not answer, the brunette glanced back at her. "Like what you see?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at her date, who could not deny the fact that she had been caught staring like teenaged boy.

"Well, yes, but I also happened to be thinking how unladylike it is to bend over in such a short dress." A smirk covered the younger woman's face and Regina stood up, placing Henry's toys in their storage bin before making her way over to sit down beside of the blonde.

"That may be so, Miss Swan, but I was hoping you'd excuse that when you got a glimpse of what was underneath." They had fallen back into their natural banter, meaning that Regina was significantly less self-conscious of her words.

Emma could not help herself and let out a groan at the thought of what lingerie the brunette had on under her sexy black dress. "Well, in that case, why don't you just let me help you take it off?"

Regina felt a very familiar wetness growing between her legs as the blonde leaned in closer to her. "You did promise to finish what we started the other night." She nearly whispered before closing the distance to give Emma a passionate kiss. When the two finally pulled away, Emma looked deep into the other woman's eyes, silently asking Regina whether or not she was serious. In response, the brunette moved to straddle the officer's lap.

Moments later, the two found themselves in yet another heated make out session, with Emma's hands inching slowly closer to Regina's backside. As the blonde moved her hands up the back of the older woman's thighs, she let out a small gasp and, to Emma's surprise, started to grind slowly against her own pale thigh. The movement forced her dress to rise high up on her thighs and eventually around her waist. When they finally separated, lustful brown eyes met darkened blue ones for only a second before Regina began her assault on the younger woman's neck, expertly sucking on the soft skin she found there.

Emma slid her hand slowly between the brunette's legs, not bothering to push her panties aside but quickly locating her clit through her panties making slow circles across the bundle of nerves.

"Oh god" the brunette moaned, stopping her previous motions to bury her face against the blonde's shoulder. "Emma, more." She whimpered.

Those words were all the encouragement that the blonde needed, and she easily slid her partner's soaked panties aside, entering the older woman without warning. Regina bit down on the blonde's shoulder to hold back a moan. Emma continued her movements at an agonizingly slow pace, but Regina was enjoying herself too much to complain. He walls had just began to tighten around the younger woman's fingers when the shrill sound of a cell phone pierced the room.

"Don't answer it." The lawyer threatened in her courtroom voice, a tone that dared Emma to disobey her.

"It's work." The blonde groaned, looking equally disappointed as she fished the obnoxious device out of her pocket to answer it. "Swan." She said stiffly into the phone, gently removing her fingers from the brunette's warmth as the other woman sat back on her lap and watched curiously. As soon as they caught each other's eye, Emma slowly raised her fingers to her mouth and sucked them off, winking at Regina in the process and making the brunette bury her head against her shoulder in frustration.

When she finally ended the call, Emma let out a soft sigh. "One of the guy's on call tonight is sick and they need me to go in and handle something."

Regina slowly sat up and looked into the officer's eyes. "I understand, duty calls." She whispered and leaned her head against Emma's. "Do you think we'll ever be able to finish this without being interrupted?"

"I sure hope so… but you know what they say: third time's a charm."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

The following Monday found Regina back at work with a million tasks which all seemed to require immediate attention. She had just finish sorting through an overabundant pile of case notes when there was a light knock at the door, a trademark of her secretary.

"What?" the brunette all but growled as her assistant stepped halfway into her office. "Regina, an officer is here to see you." The short, redheaded woman named Danielle spoke softly before pushing the door open a bit wider to reveal the tall blonde who Regina now considered herself well acquainted with. Looking up from her computer, the lawyer nodded to her assistant before letting a smile wash over her face. "Miss Swan, lovely to see you." She said, standing up from her desk and making her way over to the other woman. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" The door closed softly as Danielle took her leave.

Emma averted her eyes to the box she was carrying and then back to the woman in front of her. "Someone had to bring these files over, and when I saw your name on them I couldn't resist."

Taking the box from the taller woman's arms, Regina sat it carefully on the edge of her desk before stepping closer to Emma and placing a soft kiss on her cheek. "My hero." She teased, a small smirk playing at the corner of her lips as the blonde's hands moved to her waist. She allowed this display of affection to go on for only a few moments before gracefully moving back behind her desk. "Have a seat, if you have time."

Emma eagerly accepted her offer and sat down in one of the stiff leather chairs across from the older woman's desk. "How have you been?"

Her question was met with a raised eyebrow. "You mean since you abandoned me mid-orgasm claiming you had to go to work?" the brunette's tone was serious, but the twinkle in her eye told Emma the truth.

"Precisely." The blonde answered with a toothy smile.

"I can't complain." Regina let out a small chuckle herself. "Henry and I had a nice weekend at home. Yourself?"

"I've been okay. I worked most of the weekend… but in my down time I've just been sitting around wondering when I would get to see this hot chick I've been hanging out with again." Her words earn an eyeroll from Regina.

"Well, I surely hope you are not speaking of myself, Miss Swan, because I am certainly not a _chick._ " The brunette responded in all seriousness before cracking a small smile. "However, if you're interested, my son and I would love to have you over for dinner tomorrow night."

"I'd really love to, Gina, but tomorrow is my birthday and I volunteered to work so my parents are forcing me to join them for birthday dinner when I get off." The blonde groans, tossing her head back a bit. "They cannot accept the fact that I hate celebrating my birthday."

"And why do you hate your birthday?" Regina asked, curiosity having gotten the best of her.

Emma shifted uncomfortably in her chair in deep contemplation before deciding she trusted Regina enough to be honest. "Well, up until David and Mary Margaret adopted me, I never celebrated them. Hell, the only reason I knew when my birthday was is because my social worker had to disclose such information to the foster families I was placed with. Now it's like they think they have something to make up for, except they don't. Nothing good has ever happened on any of my birthdays, so I find it best to ignore them and go to work instead." She unloaded this personal information rather quickly and a blush crept onto her cheeks as she finally finished speaking.

Easily interpreting how uncomfortable the blonde was in their current situation, Regina decided to take the focus of their conversation away from the blonde's past.

"May I ask how old you will be turning tomorrow?" the older woman spoke softly as not to upset her visitor.

"Twenty-two." The blonde said softly, looking up after a few quiet moments passed and the lawyer had yet to respond. "Regina?" she waved her hand in front of the other woman's face.

"Y-you're only twenty-one years old?" the brunette's face displayed a look of disbelief.

"Well, yeah. Is that bad thing?" Emma asks skeptically.

"Emma…" Regina starts softly, shocking the blonde when her voice sounds more nervous than anything. "I… you…" the brunette tried again, flustered for the first time since the two met.

"If you're gonna kick me out just go ahead and do it." The blonde said stiffly, a mixture of hurt and anger bubbling up inside of her.

"No, it's not that." The older woman sighed and shook her head. "Emma, I'm too old for you… ten years older than you… and I have a child." She took her bottom lip between her teeth to stop it from quivering.

"Wait, you mean to tell me that four-foot-tall dude that lives with you isn't your husband?" her comment earned a laugh from the woman across the desk, although she looked to be on the verge of tears.

"Regina, I've known all of this from the beginning. It makes no difference to me that you're a little older, or that you have a beautiful little boy. I care about you, a lot, and I want to be with you." Her words remained steady despite being terrified.

"Your parents will hate me." she rested her head against her hands in frustration. She wanted to be with the blonde more than anything, but at that moment her fear got the better of her. "Your dad is going to _kill_ me. Oh god… your father is the Sheriff." With those words, she looked as if she was going to be sick.

"Nobody is going to hate you or kill you." The officer stood up and made her way behind Regina's desk to kneel in front of her. "My parents know damn well that I've taken care of myself since I was a baby, and that I'm more than capable of making my own decisions." She rested her hands on the other woman's thighs gently. "And I _really_ want to be with you, Gina."

The brunette leaned forward and to wrap her arms around the other woman's neck. "I really want to be with you too."

"Well, it's settled then. Now, how about you and Henry join us for my dinner tomorrow night?" Emma asked, running her fingers through dark tresses.

"A-are you sure?"

"Of course, I'm sure. I have to head back to work now, but I'll call you tonight with the details okay?"

The brunette nodded and sniffed a little before leaning forward to capture the officer's lips in a soft kiss. "Thank you. I'll see you soon."

* * *

"You're what?!" Mary Margaret all but shouted at Emma later that night. After dinner, the blonde had finally found the words to tell her about Regina and Henry.

"Woah, what's all that about?" David asked, having made his way downstairs from checking on the baby just in time to hear his wife shout at their adopted daughter. Concern rose within him as it was not something that happened often. "I hope Neal wasn't sleeping, because he definitely won't be after-" the raven haired woman did not let him finish his sentence.

"Your daughter has a girlfriend." She interrupted, the tight smile on her face anything but genuine.

A look of confusion crossed David's face as he looked to his daughter for help on the matter; she offered none. "Well… why are we yelling then? That's great news, Emma."

The glare his wife shot him was enough to shut down the conversation completely. "Well, go ahead, Emma. Tell him the rest of the story."

Emma looked up slowly with red cheeks and her hands shoved into the pockets of the sweatpants she changed into after her shower. She felt sixteen all over again. "It's Regina Mills." Emma said, knowing that her father would recognize the name of the extremely talented – and even more intelligent – Assistant District Attorney.

"Well, what's wrong with that, Snow?" David asked, utilizing the nickname in an attempt to calm his wife down. "Regina is a very respectable woman." He knew they were both on thin ice, but Emma needed all the help she could get.

"She's thirty-two years old! She has a reputation of being biggest you-know-what in town! She has a CHILD! And Emma thought it was a good idea to invite her to her birthday dinner! That… that _gold digger_!"

Frustration was growing inside of Emma, but David let out a laugh at those words. "Regina Mills has more money than Emma and I combined will make in a lifetime. I assure you that she is not a gold digger." He said, glancing up to see a slight look of relief on his daughter's face that he was taking her side.

"Well, it isn't fair for her to take advantage of my little girl." Mary Margaret threw her hands up in frustration and Emma finally spoke a full sentence.

"She isn't taking advantage of me. Regina makes me happy and I really care about her. Besides, she's been through a lot in life. Her father died when she was young, her mother is horrible, and her husband was killed when Henry was three. She's a 'bitch' because nobody ever takes the time to get to know her, mom." The term of endearment tugged at the older woman's heartstrings as Emma rarely used it. "… and for the record, she cares about me too. She only found out my age today… but when she did… she almost _cried_ because saw this coming. She knew you guys would have a problem with it, but I assured her you're both better people than that. Sucks to know she was right." At this, Emma stormed out of their apartment and across the hall to her own.

"Living in the same building as them was a bad fucking idea." She grumbled to herself as she immediately went over to the treadmill in the corner, aware of the fact that she would need to shower again but desperately in need of an outlet for her frustration.

She carried on at full speed for half an hour until there was a soft knock at the door which she immediately recognized as Mary Margaret's. She switched off the treadmill and grabbed a towel to wipe her face, slowly making her way over to the door and opening it just a tad. "Can I help you?" she asked the other woman irritably but moved back so she could make her way inside.

"Emma," Mary Margaret began, turning towards her daughter after the door was closed. "I'm sorry that I overreacted and shouted at you… and I am sorry that I judged Regina before getting the chance to meet her properly."

Emma bit her lip, still panting slightly as she calmed down from her workout. "Really? Or did David tell you to say that? She asked skeptically.

"Of course not. He just talked some sense into me… and after everything you've been through in your twenty-two years of life, you deserve to be happy." She held her arms out and Emma immediately stepped into her embrace.

"I have to get back and feed your brother, but why don't you call Regina and let her know how excited we are to have her over for dinner?"

* * *

The following day, Emma was sitting behind her desk trying to tackle a mountain of paperwork. It was nearly three in the afternoon and she was in the middle of her sixth "break" of the day when her phone buzzed in her pocket. She smiled upon pulling it out as she saw Regina's name on the screen.

' **Happy birthday, officer. Henry and I cannot wait to celebrate with you tonight.'**

Emma could not help but feel like a giddy child as she typed her response. ' _Thank you! I can't wait either. I'm sure you two will make it extra special.'_

' **I'm a bit nervous to meet your parents still. Are you sure they're okay with Henry and I coming?'**

' _Of course. They're excited to meet you guys.'_

' **Well, I am on my way to pick up Henry from school and then we're headed out to buy a certain someone a birthday present. Good afternoon, Miss Swan. See you at seven!"**

Emma could almost hear the smirk in Regina's voice as she read over her last message. She let out a groan and quickly typed back to explain to the brunette that they did not have to buy her anything. However, her attempts proved to be futile when Regina simply did not respond.

For the rest of the day, a very impatient blonde sat at her desk doing more daydreaming than paperwork. She tried to balance a pencil on her nose, shot paper 'basketballs' into the trashcan with her temporary partner, and then sat around staring at the clock – begging the minutes to tick by faster. For the first time, she was excited for a birthday.

When five-thirty finally rolled around, she made her way into the father's office. "Hi, ready to head home?"

"Yeah, just one second." David said with a smile as he finished typing something on his keyboard. "Is the birthday girl finally excited for once?" he asked with a smirk, eyes not leaving the screen. "I've been watching you ignore that stack of paperwork on your desk all day."

"I just… couldn't focus." She finally decided was an adequate excuse.

"This Regina must be pretty amazing." David closed the tabs on his computer and finally looked over at her. "I think this is the first girl you've entertained for more than two weeks since I've known you, Em." He teased his daughter, forcing her cheeks to turn bright pink. "At least I won't get the 'tell your daughter to stop acting like a man-whore' speech from Snow anymore." His comment caused them both to burst into laughter.

"Please don't tell Regina about that speech." Emma requested once their laughter died down.

"Don't worry, I won't." he stood up to gather his things. "You might, however, want to make sure to give your mother that warning also."

Emma groaned loudly as the two made their way out of the station and towards her yellow bug. "Maybe I should just tell Regina the dinner is cancelled."

"No can do, kiddo; it's your birthday. Besides, your mom already promised to be on her best behavior."

"I'll believe it when I see it." Emma grumbled as she climbed into her car and started towards their apartment building.

When the two finally arrived home, they both went to their respective apartments to shower. _'Come to my apartment when you get here'_ she texted Regina quickly before stepping into the shower and quickly starting to wash her hair and body. She had just slipped into her jeans and finished tucking in her dark green flannel shirt when there was a knock at the door. Groaning at the fact that her hair was still wrapped in a towel.

"I'm coming." Emma shouted from her bedroom, taking the towel off of her head and shaking her hair out before jogging to the door and opening it quickly. An immediate smile covered her face when she saw Regina and Henry standing on the other side. Henry was wearing jeans and a white, perfectly wrinkle-free, button-up shirt. Regina, on the other hand, was perfectly adorned in a navy dress and tan heels. "Hi guys." The blonde greeted them as soon as she finished giving the other woman a good once over.

"Emma!" Henry said excitedly, hugging her legs before running past her and into the apartment.

"Manners, young man!" Regina sternly reminded before looking back to the apartment's owner. "Happy birthday, Miss Swan. It's nice to see you." Emma did not miss the longing glance to her lips but decided against pulling the lawyer in for a kiss while her son was in the room.

"It's nice to see you too. I've been looking forward to this all day." Emma smiled, shoving her hands in her pockets.

"So have I." the brunette answered in a low tone, glancing over to see her son already struggling to pull his favorite toy from the bottom of his backpack. Thankful for the distraction, she leaned in to give Emma a soft kiss on the cheek. "He knows." She clarified softly, resting her hand gently on the blonde's cheek.

"He does?" Emma asked, eyes wide with surprise.

"I told him that you're my special friend. He never even mentioned you being a woman, just asked if I was going to marry you like I married his father." To Emma's surprise, Regina recounts the story with a smile. "He's all for the idea because you can play soccer and you let him have milkshakes." She finished with an eye roll before stepping past the blonde and over to her son.

Emma glanced at her watch and then back at the two of them. "Ready to go over and meet my parents?"

"Yeah!" Henry said excitedly and ran towards the door. His mother, however, looked less than thrilled at that suggestion.

Swallowing hard, she brought her gaze back to the blonde. "Sure. Do you mind if I leave my purse here? Henry and I would like to give you your presents after dinner."

"Of course." Emma smiled, waiting for her to leave her purse on the couch before opening the apartment door. She allowed Regina to step out ahead of her and closed the door behind them before resting her hand on the small of the brunette's back and gently leading her down the hall. "Ready?" she mumbled in her ear as they finally came to stand in front of apartment 4C.

Before Regina could formulate an answer, her son was knocking on the door. Momentary panic crossed her face before professional mannerisms took over and she stood up straight, face plastered with a fake smile.

A few short seconds later, Mary Margaret stood on the other side of a wide-open door. "Hello everyone!" she said in a high pitched, overenthusiastic voice as she stepped back to let them in. "Good afternoon, my birthday girl!" she pulled Emma into a hug and kissed her cheek. "I love you so much and I can't believe you're twenty-two years old."

Emma blushed but gladly hugged her adoptive mother back. After so many birthdays spent alone, she enjoyed having a family that cared about her when they came around. "Thank you, Mom. I love you too." She said earnestly before worming her way out of the woman's tight embrace as David made his way over.

"Guys, this is Henry." The blonde started her introductions, bending over to lift the excited five-year-old into her arms. "And this is Regina." Her free arm snaked its way around the brunette's waist and to the small of her back as she spoke.

"It's so nice to meet the both of you." Mary Margaret began, reaching out to shake Regina's hand and trying her best to give the new situation a chance. However, as much as she disliked the idea of her daughter being involved with such an older woman, she could not deny that there was a sparkle in Emma's eye she had never seen before.

Regina shook her hand and then David's.

"We've met before, but it's nice to have you both." David said with a charming smile, holding his hand out to high-five Henry after shaking Regina's.

"Dinner is ready, so all of you go take a seat and I'll bring it right out." Mary Margaret spoke up, motioning to the dining room table.

"Would you like some help?" Regina offered, surprising the raven-haired woman as she spoke.

"Thank you for the sweet offer, but you and Henry are our guests." She glanced to her daughter. "Emma, you three go sit down, I'll have your father help me with the food."

Nodding in agreement, she carried Henry over to the table and pulled Regina's chair out first. The three settled in and Henry immediately started to tell Emma about his day, only ending his rambling when food was placed on the table.

Dinner was served and spent a large portion of the meal making small talk until Mary Margaret finally turned to Regina and asked, "So, what attracted you to my daughter?" She asked after a rather large sip of wine. The question earned her a glare from both of the blondes at the table.

Regina nearly choked on her broccoli but quickly composed herself and sat up straighter than ever. "Well…" she began slowly despite already knowing the exact answer to Mary Margaret's question. "Emma is beautiful, she has the biggest heart of anyone I have ever met, and she's amazing with my son."

Sensing the brunette's nervousness, Emma reached over to gently grip her thigh under the table. She felt a tug on her heart at Regina's words.

"That's an incredibly sweet thing to say." Emma smiled at her mother's words, finally starting to relax into her seat when Mary Margaret spoke again, "You don't think you're a little too old for her?"

Emma started to get up from her seat, ready to leave and take Regina and Henry with her, when she felt the brunette's hand on her wrist, gently keeping her in place.

"I am older, yes, but that does not mean my feelings for Emma are not real. If I thought for one second that Henry and I were negatively impacting your daughter's life, we would leave her be." The lawyer remained calm, drawing slow circles on the back of Emma's hand with her finger. "And despite what you think of me, Henry and I want Emma for who she is, not what she can give us."

Her words softened the older woman's facial expression and she opened her mouth to speak but the five-year-old across the table beat her to it. "We love Emma!" he said with a grin.

"Well," Mary Margaret began, all of her resolve having melted away. "I am so glad the three of you found each other." She finally offered the other woman a soft smile.

Emma had now visibly relaxed once again, and the rest of dinner went by smoothly. Mary Margaret and David gave Emma her birthday present and they had cake – which soon ended up all over Henry's face. The six of them enjoyed each other's company for an hour more until Neal started to cry.

"I think someone is sleepy." Mary Margaret said, slowly lifting the upset child from David's arms. "I should go put him down soon." She rocked her son back and forth in an attempt to soothe him.

"It's getting close to Henry's bed time also. We'll have to get going soon, dear." Regina agreed, once again reaching for the blonde's hand under the table.

Emma gladly took hold of it but looked into the other woman's eyes with a face full of concern. "You've been drinking. You can't drive anywhere tonight."

"Emma," the older woman began, "I had two glasses of wine and one was at the very beginning of dinner. I am perfectly sober."

A look of panic was evident in the blonde's eyes for only a second before she forced it to disappear. "I… I don't want you to risk it either way. It's late and dark and I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to the two of you." She had completely tuned out her parents by then. "I'll take you home."'

"And what about my car?" the brunette raised an eyebrow in curiosity, unsure what brought about Emma's peculiar behavior.

"We'll take it. I can walk back. No big deal." Emma spoke quickly and desperately, on the verge of becoming upset.

"We'll discuss this after your presents. Okay dear?" Regina moved to stroke Emma's thigh, wishing desperately that she understood what was going on.

"Okay." she finally relented, standing up and moving to give both of her parents a hug. "Thank you so much for an amazing birthday dinner. I love you both and I am so grateful to have you as my parents." She said softly to the two of them, leaning over to kiss Mary Margaret on the cheek. "Your food was the best as always, Mom, but Gina and Henry want to give me their presents before they leave so we're gonna head back over to my apartment, if that's okay."

"Of course, Em." the raven-haired woman nodded. They all bid their goodbyes and, before long, Emma and her guests were walking out of the door.

"Do you think she'll ever get over what happened?" David asked after the door had closed behind them, crossing his arms and leaning against the counter.

His wife let out a sigh as she leaned her head on his shoulder. "I don't know… but I sure hope so."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

Across the hall, Regina and Emma sat on the blonde's couch with a very tired little boy between them. "Why don't you go grab your present for Emma, so she can open it before you fall asleep?" The older woman asked her son as she ran her fingers through his hair. Nodding, Henry gave a tired smile before climbing off of his mother's lap and going to search through her purse.

Regina's eyes caught sharp green ones from across the couch and she whispered, "He picked his own present to you out, but mine is in there too." She smiled and sat up straight as her son made his way back over with a skillfully wrapped box in his hands.

"Here you go!" he beamed, holding the gift out for the blonde to take.

Emma slowly unwrapped the box to reveal a plastic container filled with cars, trucks, and planes. She could not help but smile as she reached out to give the five-year-old a hug. "Thank you so much, Henry!"

"You're welcome, Emma!" he giggled before crawling into her lap and settling down with the cylindrical container in his hands.

"He said he wanted the two of you to be able to play when he comes over." Regina said softly, noticing her son's eyes as they started to droop. The blonde felt a few unshed tears in the corners of her own eyes and blinked a few times to will them away.

"Well I guess now you guys can come over more often." She said with a smile and then glanced down at Henry, who was very close to falling asleep in her lap. "If you'd like, we can lay him down in my guest room."

Nodding, Regina glanced down at her designer watch to check the time. "Were you serious about your wish for me and Henry to stay the night here?" she asked softly, the blonde's earlier behavior still on her mind.

Awkwardly scratching the back of her neck, Emma nodded. "Yeah… I mean… I'm not trying to force you into doing anything… or sleeping with me. The two of you can take my bed… its bigger and more comfortable… I just don't want you to drive after drinking at dinner… plus they say the hurricane headed towards Long Island might take a turn for us…" Emma was rambling, and she knew it, she just could not seem to stop herself.

Manicured hands reached across the couch to gently touch the back of Emma's hand. "We'll stay the night, we'll just need to get up early enough for me to get Henry home and ready for school." Emma visibly relaxed at her agreement. "However, I would like you to tell me why you feel so strongly about the matter."

Swallowing hard, Emma glanced down at Henry to break the prolonged eye contact with his mother. "I will. Just, please, not tonight."

"Okay." the older woman nodded and stood up from the couch. "I need to go get the rest of your present and Henry's spare set of clothes from my car. Do you mind laying him down for me?" she asked as she smoothed out her dress.

"Of course." Emma nodded and stood up, cradling the boy close to her body. She quickly made her way into her guest room, glad to have a moment to think. She laid Henry down on the bed and started to gently remove his clothes and fold them. The officer was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't hear Regina enter the room.

"Thank you." The brunette spoke up just as she was folding Henry's black slacks. Emma was startled, but simply turned to watch as Regina redressed her son in his _Superman_ pajamas.

"You keep pajamas in your car?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No." the older woman chuckled. "I just learned long ago that you can never have enough spare clothes with a little boy running around." She turned to step into the blonde's arms. "Now come on, we still have some celebrating to do." She purred into Emma's ear and then quickly returned to the living room. The ambiguity of her words enough to make Emma nearly trip in her quick attempt to catch up.

"You know, for an officer, you aren't very sound on your feet." Regina smirked from her position on the couch. There was a large, rectangular box on her lap and she reached over to grab a much smaller one from her purse.

"Yeah well you being a tease doesn't exactly help me the matter." Emma grumbled, moving over to sit beside of the brunette.

"I am not a tease, dear. I simply enjoy seeing you flustered." She smirked again, leaning over to kiss the other woman's cheek before holding out the smaller box for her to open. "Happy birthday."

"You really didn't have to get me anything." Emma said modestly, but quickly flipped open the blue velvet box to reveal a silver necklace that held a swan pendant encrusted with several diamonds. Emma gasped as she looked down at the piece of very expensive jewelry. "It's beautiful, Gina, but you shouldn't have." While the blonde was not usually the type to wear jewelry, the necklace fit her perfectly.

"Yes, I should have, you deserve it." she reached over to gently take the box from the blonde and helped her put the necklace on. "Beautiful." She said before quickly placing the other box in her girlfriend's lap.

"You're too much." Emma shook her head, failing to suppress a grin as she tore the paper away and quickly pulled the lid from the box. Red leather met her eyes and she reached down to pick up a brand new, genuine leather jacket.

"Before you say it, I didn't plan to get you both presents. I just happened to see this in a shop window as Henry and I were headed home, and I couldn't resist."

Emma held the fabric close to her face and breathed in its scent. "They're perfect. You're perfect." She grinned and leaned over to capture Regina's lips in a heated kiss. She slipped her tongue gingerly into the brunette's mouth and smiled against Regina's lips when she felt her moan into the kiss. When the two finally broke apart, Regina was sat across Emma's lap and the two were both panting heavily.

Not wanting to seem presumptuous, and unsure if the brunette would be open to having sex with her son in the apartment, she hooked her arm underneath the other woman's knees and stood up from the couch holding her bridal style. "Henry's bed or mine?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yours." Regina whispered against the blonde's neck. "Don't you dare drop me." she added for good measure, slipping her arms around Emma's neck.

The taller woman laughed and shook her head in amusement as she started slowly towards her bedroom. "Relax, Gina, I've got you." She felt the older woman smile against her neck as she quickly flipped the light switch with her elbow and headed towards her bedroom. "Welcome, my Queen." The blonde said teasingly as she softly kicked the bedroom door shut behind them. She placed the brunette on the right side of the bed and moved towards her dresser.

"Thank you for not dropping me on my head." Regina smiled, leaning back against the pillows and taking in her surroundings. The blonde's bedroom was simple, but very well organized. There was a king-sized bed, a flat screen television mounted on the wall, a nightstand, and a few other pieces of furniture to hold her clothing.

Emma scoffed, "Have you seen these muscles, woman?" she asked teasingly, flexing through her flannel shirt to prove a point. "I would NOT have dropped you!"

"Sure." Regina playfully rolled her eyes but in reality, she loved how strong the blonde woman was.

Shaking her head and smiling, Emma made her way over to her dresser and opened one of the bottom drawers. "What do you want to sleep in?" she asked, starting to look through the stack of pajamas – or sweatpants and t-shirts – inside of it. "My pants are probably too big for you." She added, holding a pair up and furrowing her eyebrows.

"Just a shirt." the brunette said softly, leaning up to take off her heels. Afterwards, she stood up and walked over to where Emma was kneeling.

The officer took out a pair of flannel pants and a tank top for herself and handed over a rather large police department t-shirt to Regina. "I think I'll go check on Henry once more before I get changed." She said softly, laying the navy shirt over her shoulder and turning to make her way out of the room.

Emma closed the drawer and scooped up her clothes before heading into the bathroom to get changed. She was already lying in bed with a soccer game playing on the tv when the brunette returned. "Everything okay?"

"Everything is fine. I'll be right back." Regina quietly slipped into the bathroom and the blonde turned her attention back to her television.

When the brunette emerged from the bathroom, Emma immediately turned her attention away from the game. Her mouth went dry as she took in the image of Regina standing there with no makeup, clad in only the t-shirt that went to her mid-thigh. When she noticed the younger woman's stare, insecurity took over and she hurried to slip under the covers. Emma quickly switched off the tv and turned to face her girlfriend, who was sitting up against the headboard with her legs tightly crossed under the covers.

"You're beautiful." The blonde said softly, still completely mesmerized by the woman in front of her. "Come here." She reached over to pull the blonde into her lap.

"Emma!" the older woman yelped, smacking her hands away just as they reached her thighs.

"What?" a look of utter confusion manifested itself on a pale face.

Regina's cheeks turned a bright shade of pink and she looked away. "I don't have on any panties… I didn't need them with my dress…"

Laughing, Emma leaned over to place a kiss on a tanned cheek. "They're just panties, Gina. I've seen all of you before."

"I just didn't want you to be surprised if you… felt me." she blushed again but relented and moved over onto the taller woman's lap. "Don't try anything funny, Miss Swan. My son is sleeping across the hall and he's still at an age where he comes to find me in the night."

"Didn't you just check on him?" a blonde eyebrow raised.

"Yes, but I meant in the middle of the night. I will not have my baby walking in on us naked together." The older woman said sternly, making the extent of her warning very clear to her partner.

"Good thing you aren't wearing panties then." Emma smirked and quickly rolled them over. The brunette gasped and glared up at her when her back hit the mattress. Smiling sheepishly, Emma leaned down to trial soft kisses down her neck. Pale hands reached down to push the hem of Regina's shirt up and slowly began to make their way up and down tanned hips. She pulled the brunette's shirt over her breasts and quickly captured her lips in a kiss. Suckling gently on Regina's tongue and lower lip, the younger woman allowed her hands to roam over perky breasts and hard, dusky nipples.

A moan slipped from Regina's mouth as she arched her back, successfully pushing her ample breasts further into strong hands. "If you find a reason to stop this time I will never allow you to put your han-" her threat was cut off by a whimper as Emma's lips took the place of her hands and she swirled her tongue around her girlfriend's hardened peaks. Manicured hands tangled themselves into golden locks and pulled Emma in closer.

"Don't worry, Gina." The blonde mumbled around a hardened nipple before slowly kissing her way down a tanned abdomen. She kissed her way across Regina's hips and down her thighs, dark legs falling open with ease. Emma could smell her arousal and let out a growl, desperate to have a taste of the slick folds on display in front of her.

The next moment, a skilled tongue found Regina's clit and she was forced to bite her lip to keep from crying out. Only a small whimper escaped as she tossed her head back against the pillows and tugged at the blonde's long hair. "More, Emma. It's been so long…" the brunette husked, eyes dark with arousal. She was dripping wetness and Emma knew it. Seizing the element of surprise, she buried two fingers inside of the brunette without warning. "Oh god!" Regina all but screamed, writhing underneath the muscular blonde.

Using one hand to still tan legs, Emma looked down into dark brown eyes as she started to curl her fingers in an upward motion. "Tell me when you're ready to stop." She husked, an almost predatory look in her eyes. Reclaiming her position, she easily sucked Regina's swollen clit into her mouth and began to pump her fingers in long, slow strokes.

The lawyer grinded her hips against the muscular hand, frustrated with the agonizingly slow pace the blonde had chosen. "Faster!" she groaned, reaching up to toy with her own nipples while her partner was preoccupied.

Emma sped up on command, curling her fingers upwards with each thrust and pushing Regina over the edge. "Oh, Emma… Emma… fuck!" the brunette moaned as she came undone, her walls tightening around long, slender digits. As she came down from her high, pale fingers slowed to an almost stop and, before she knew it, another was added and the blonde picked up her pace once again. An animal-like noise escaped the older woman as she arched her back high off the bed and squeezed her eyes shut. Before her first orgasm was complete, she felt a new wave of pleasure wash over her as she was hit with another. "Fuck" Regina whimpered, and tan legs began to shake as Emma continued pumping into slick folds relentlessly. Unable to take anymore pleasure, the she reached between her legs and grabbed the other woman's wrist, groaning as pale fingers slipped from her tight warmth. She rolled slightly onto her side, still shaking and moaning as her orgasm continued to ripple through her body.

"Relax, baby." Emma spoke softly, gently massaging a tan thigh as Regina calmed down and once again relaxed against the pillows, her legs falling open again. "One more."

She had barely registered the blonde's words before she felt a tongue lapping at her wetness. Regina squeezed her legs shut, trapping the blonde's head. "Can't… too sensitive…" she said shakily, but the complaints died on her lips when Emma pushed her legs back open and continued, slipping a hand between her own legs to pleasure her aching clit as an orgasm approached her quickly.

Reaching for a pillow, Regina pulled it down over her face and let out a loud, guttural scream into the satin pillowcase as a third orgasm took over. Emma's tongue continued to work over her partners swollen clit as her own orgasm racked her body. Pushing the blonde's head away to protect her extremely sensitive clit, Regina clenched her legs together and rolled onto her side, smiling when the blonde collapsed beside of her.

"Give me a moment and I'll return the favor." She said softly, eyes still closed. "Right now, I can't feel my legs."

Pale, muscular arms snaked their way around the blonde's waist. "Shh. I came too, just relax, Gina." Emma mumbled into dark hair as her eyes slipped closed.

"Pull my shirt back down." The brunette mumbled sleepily as she snuggled farther into the woman behind her. "You're the one who pulled it up." She added when her request was met with a sarcastic groan.

A smile graced thin lips as Emma blindly maneuvered her hands to cover smaller woman's body with her t-shirt once again. "Goodnight." She whispered against the blonde's ear and laughed a little when she realized the other woman had already fallen asleep. "Sweet dreams, Gina" she whispered into the darkness.

Hours later, the two were started awake by a loud clap of thunder and a flash of lightning through the window. "Shit!" Emma groaned, sitting up so quickly that she nearly rolled off the bed. Regina rubbed her eyes sleepily and sat up as the blonde turned on a lamp and went to look out the window. "Sounds like that hurricane took a turn for us after all."

"This is Maine, Emma. We don't get hurricanes." Tanned fingers made their way through tangled brown hair and Regina rolled her eyes at the blonde standing at the window. "It's just a storm, come back to bed." The blonde relented and let the blinds slip shut as she crawled back under the covers to wrap her arms around her still warm girlfriend.

Moments later, another loud explosion of thunder sent Henry running into Emma's room to scramble onto the bed and into his mother's arms. Although the shaggy haired boy had foregone knocking, Regina quickly forgave him when she noticed tears clouding his eyes. "Don't cry, my love. I've got you." She whispered into dark hair when her son buried his head against her chest. Slowly and unsurely, Emma reached a shaky hand over to rub his back and Regina gave her a soft smile as their eyes met. Finally, in the safety of their arms, Henry fell back asleep.

"Poor kid." Emma said as she watched Regina carefully settle her son onto the other side of her. She reached over to grab her phone from the nightstand, "I used to be scared of thunder too." The two women settled back into bed and Emma opened the weather app on her phone.

"How long did it take you to grow out of it?" the brunette asked curiously, tucking the covers comfortably around her son before turning back to face Emma.

"Until I was eleven," she admitted, keeping green eyes trained on her cell phone to keep from looking at the brunette. "but I also didn't have a mom to hold me and ease my fears. I'm sure he'll grow out of it much sooner." Pink lips barely missed a beat before changing the subject, "It's definitely the hurricane. I doubt the kid will go to school tomorrow."

Regina's heart ached upon another mention of the years the blonde spent completely alone. "We'll worry about that when the sun comes up, dear. If you would be so kind as to put that device back where it came from, Henry and I would appreciate an extra pair of arms to keep us warm."

Smiling, Emma tossed her phone back on the nightstand and wrapped her arms around the brunette and her son. She couldn't help but think how much better her bed felt with the two of them next to her. "Goodnight." She mumbled into thick brown locks.

"Goodnight, Emma." Came the brunette's sleepy reply. Seconds later, the three of them were all back to sleep.

At precisely 6:45 that morning, the alarm that Regina asked Emma to set went off and the blonde quickly reached over to silence it before it woke Henry. After shutting off the offending device, she looked online to confirm her suspicions: since the storm was still raging outside, all schools were shut down for the day.

"Morning." Regina mumbled, rolling over to face the blonde. Henry was sprawled out on his back beside of her.

"Good morning." Emma smiled and leaned down to place a chaste kiss on her forehead. "The kid's school is cancelled." She mumbled against the soft skin there as she pulled the smaller woman closer.

"Good, he needs the rest today." Brown eyes glanced back at the sleeping five-year-old. "Will you please hand me my cell phone? And a pair of pants for when my son wakes up?"

Nodding, Emma reached over and grabbed the brunette's cell phone before pushing the covers back to get out of bed. "Boxers work?" the taller woman asked, running her fingers through her hair as she made her way over to the drawer where she kept her underwear.

"That's fine." Regina mumbled, eyes glued to her cell phone as she checked her messages. "Oh, thank God." She moaned in satisfaction and Emma raised an eyebrow at her from across the room. "No court today and my boss said he's not opening the office."

"Good." The blonde smiled, tossing a pair of gray boxer shorts onto the bed for Regina to put on. "Today's my day off, so how about the both of us get back to bed?" Loose boxers were slipped over tanned legs and the other woman nodded back at her as she pulled the covers back up. Smiling, Emma crawled back into bed and rested on her back against the mattress. To her surprise, the smaller woman moved over to cuddle against her and rest her head on a muscular chest.

Two hours later, green eyes fluttered open as a result of a small foot kicking Emma in the side. Groaning softly, she sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes before finally glancing over the see that Regina was gone from the bed and a very octopus-like Henry was spread out beside of her. Stumbling out of bed, the blonde made her way into the bathroom to brush her teeth and relieve her bladder, deciding at the last minute to pull her unruly hair into a bun before going in search of the brunette.

"Good morning." The half-asleep blonde mumbled after making her way into the kitchen to find the other woman in front of the stove. She could smell pancakes and bacon and that was enough to wake her up fully.

"Good morning, Emma. I hope you don't mind but I woke up and decided to surprise you with breakfast." She said with a motion towards the table, where two full plates sat ready to be devoured.

"Of course I don't mind!" she smiled, waiting for Regina to sit down before digging into the food on the plate. The two ate in mostly silence, the brunette still amazed at how much food her blonde counterpart could manage to put away in one sitting, especially considering how skinny she remained. The two made small talk between mouthfuls of food until Emma took her last bite.

"Did you enjoy breakfast?" the older of the two asked with a satisfied smile as Emma leaned back against the chair and rubbed her full stomach.

"Let's just say that if you're planning to cook like what every time you come over here I'm never letting you leave." She grinned.

Her choice of words brought Regina's mind back the blonde's strange behavior the night before. "Speaking of letting me leave, are you ready to talk about last night?"

Pale shoulders visibly tensed at the question and Emma's gaze dropped to her lap. However, as much as she wanted to run out the door, they were in her apartment so that wasn't an option. "Okay," she began, letting out a slow breath. "I'll tell you, but you cannot interrupt or ask questions or anything until I'm finished. Also, afterwards, if you hate me then you can leave."

Regina raises an eyebrow but decides not to question the last part of her statement. "Okay, dear. Go ahead." She says simply.

After a long pause, Emma finally started to explain, "Okay… well when I was nineteen, a friend of mine talked me into going to this party with him." She began awkwardly, standing up to clear the dishes from the table as she spoke. "Now don't get me wrong, I was definitely one of those teenagers who went to wild parties regularly," she deposited the dishes in the sink and turned to lean against the counter, crossing her arms over her chest, "but this particular night I wasn't in the mood. Basic training was stressing me out and really just wanted to stay in bed and watch Netflix, but none of our other friends were going and I just couldn't let him go out alone. He had a few drinks, but I didn't really keep up because I was planning on driving him home anyways." An empty look clouded green eyes as she continued to speak, "We were about to leave when his girlfriend showed up… she was with another guy. They argued for a while and then he got really mad and said he was leaving and that's when I remembered I forgot to take his keys. I chased after him, but he was already getting into his truck… I tried to make him give me the keys, but he was so mad… I'd never seen him that mad." Emma focused solely on her feet as she neared the end of the story.

"I knew better, I've always known better, but I was afraid of what would happen if he went off alone, so I got in with him. I was terrified and too busy trying to talk him down to see what happened, but we crashed." Tears welled in the corners of her eyes and she stubbornly tried to blink them away. "Someone died, Hook stayed on life support for weeks, I was okay except for a couple of broken bones but…" a quiet sob escaped as Emma slid slowly down to the floor, relying heavily on her cabinets for support as she held her knees to her chest. "Someone died… and I feel like if I had just kept my fucking mouth shut and not distracted him from the road…" she quickly swiped at her tears with the back of her hand and soon Regina was at her side, kneeling on the ground and wrapping her arms around Emma's lanky figure.

"Hey, you weren't the one who got behind the wheel drunk, you were simply trying to keep your friend safe. We're just lucky you didn't get yourself seriously hurt." Regina hugged her close, pulling the taller woman's head to rest against her chest and rubbing soothing circles into the skin of her back. "You have very strong protective instincts, dear, and it shows. I understand why you didn't want Henry and I on the road last night. It's okay."

"Thank you, Gina." The blonde mumbled softly, wrapping her arm around a thin waist.

"You're welcome, my love." As she continued to comfort Emma, her mind wandered to her husband and the man who killed him. Although she was still angry and hurt over the loss of her former life partner, she knew that what happened in Emma's situation was in no way her fault. The two sat there together in silence, completely losing track of time. It was not until they heard Henry stumbling out of bed and into Emma's bathroom that they both stood up to compose themselves.

"Good morning, Mommy!" the five-year-old grinned as he ran over and held his arms out for Regina to hug him. Both women now had their emotions under control and the brunette offered her son a genuine smile as she squatted down in front of her son and gathered him into her arms. "Did you forget school, Mommy?"

Regina chuckled, "No, my love, there's a storm out so school was cancelled today. You and I are spending the day with Emma instead."

His mother's revelation made the young boy practically squeal in delight. "I love it here with Emma." He said into her shoulder just before they separated from the hug.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

Three months passed, and Regina and Emma's relationship only continued to blossom. The two had been spending most of their free time together and Henry loved having another adult around to spoil him. While soccer season had come and gone, along with Henry's sixth birthday, Emma continued teaching him in the mansion's backyard and Regina often sat outside watching the two of them. The three had settled into a rather domesticated routine, with only minor arguments having taken place between the couple so far. However, it was a Saturday afternoon and both adults knew that the perfect bubble they had been living in for the past few months was likely about to be popped. They were on the way to join Cora Mills' house for lunch.

"If you grip the steering wheel any tighter you're going to cut off the circulation in your hands." Regina's voice interrupted Emma's thoughts. She had been so wrapped up in thinking about how lunch would go that she didn't notice how tight her hold on the wheel was.

"Sorry." The blonde murmured, biting her lip nervously. Emma had never once stayed with a woman long enough to meet her family, and even if she had, she wasn't sure anything could prepare her for a woman like Cora Mills. Regina had told her several stories of her mother over the last couple of weeks, each making the woman seem more terrifying than the last. Nevertheless, Emma was not worried about how the oldest Mills would feel about her, only how Regina would feel if she screwed things up and made Cora hate her.

"What's bothering you?" The older woman asked soothingly, her hand seeking out Emma's thigh. "The truth please." Regina had learned over the past few months that Emma Swan avoided discussing her feelings at all costs. However, she knew it was simply the result of an adverse childhood and always managed to get through to the other woman if she tried hard enough.

Glancing in the rearview mirror and finding Henry asleep in his car seat, Emma knew there was no way around the conversation. "I'm nervous." She finally admitted, eyes locked on the road.

"About?" Regina pressed on, raising a perfectly sculpted eyebrow in the officer's direction.

"Honestly?" she asked, moving her hand down to lace her fingers with Regina's. After receiving an affirmative nod, she let out a long sigh before starting to explain her feelings. "I'm scared that your feelings for me will change if your mother hates me. I mean, I know you guys don't get along, but I can tell you still want to impress her… and well… I'm not exactly impressive."

"Baby," Regina began softly, using a rare term of endearment. "I don't care what my mother thinks. If she likes you, great, and if not, then we'll take Henry and go back to my house for the night." Leaning over the console, she placed a gentle kiss on Emma's cheek. Emma let out a sigh of relief as she continued. "I know that you've been through a lot in your life, but you are not disposable, Emma, and I am not going to toss you aside anytime something goes wrong between us."

A smile crossed Emma's lips as she brought their intertwined hands to her mouth and placed a soft kiss on the back of her girlfriend's tanned one. "You're amazing."

"I know." The brunette said with a small smirk. "Turn here." She added after focusing on the road once again.

Emma's heart started to beat faster as she realized she was turning into a driveway. "Here goes nothing." She squeezed Regina's hand and drove slowly towards the large house ahead of them. After parking her car and opening the doors for Regina and Henry, the three of them made their way up Cora's extravagant front steps. "This house is even bigger than yours." Emma said in amazement, mostly at the fact that her wife did not act like the spoiled children she presumed grew up in such homes.

"Yes, dear, my mother has always been very high maintenance." Regina nodded, moving to intertwine her hand with Emma's once again as Henry ran up to the front door and struggled to reach the doorbell. After a few frustrated jumps, he finally managed to hit the button and Emma's eyes widened as the loud sound of heels began clicking closer to the door.

Regina opened her mouth to comfort the other woman again, but she had yet to formulate her words when her mother appeared on the other side of the now open door. "Why hello, my beautiful grandson." Emma was tense but allowed herself to smile at the exchange as Cora kneeled down to hug Henry. "Regina." The oldest Mills nodded to her daughter before allowing her eyes to rake over the tall blonde holding her hand. "You must be Jenna."

"Emma." She corrected gently, offering her hand for Cora to shake. The older brunette glanced at it questioningly for a moment before finally accepting the gesture.

"Ah, yes, Emma. The woman who turned my perfect daughter into a lesbian." Cora commented after retracting her hand. Before either of the women had a chance to react, Regina's mother was in the house once again. "Come, Henry. I need a taste tester." She called over her shoulder and the five-year-old was right on her heels.

"Well she's lovely." Emma said sarcastically, following Regina into the house.

"Ignore her, dear." The brunette said with a sigh as they made their way into the living room to have a seat on Cora's couch. "She's just surprised that you're a woman is all."

"Yeah well I don't think she appreciates the fact that my good looks and charm made her daughter like vagina." The blonde deadpanned.

Regina cringed at those words and shook her head. "You are worse than a child." She scolded and lightly slapped Emma's arm. The two sat in silence as they listened to Cora and Henry moving around the kitchen. Both had lost track of time when the oldest Mills finally poked her head around the corner. "Dinner is ready." Cora said simply before heading down to the wine cellar to pick out one of her best bottles. Regina had already warned Emma that her mother liked to show off.

"Mommy I set the table!" Henry bragged excitedly as the two women entered the extravagant dining room. "Gramma let me use her pretty plates." He beamed, grabbing Regina's hand and dragging her around to the other side of the table. "You sit here." He instructed, struggling but eventually succeeding to pull the heavy chair out for her.

"Such a little gentleman." His mother smiled proudly as she took her seat. She watched as he moved over to pull Emma towards the chair across from her own.

"I pulled out mommy's chair like you do." He told the blonde proudly, allowing her to perform the task for herself.

"Good job, buddy." The younger woman smiled, holding her hand out to high-five her girlfriend's son. He returned the gesture happily before running quickly running off to find his grandmother.

"Henry Daniel be careful on those stairs!" Regina shouted after him and smiled in satisfaction when the sound of his footsteps slowed to a walk. Alone with Emma again, the brunette looked up at her with a soft smile. "Thank you for teaching my son to respect women," she began, causing the woman across from her to blush, "but please do not teach him to attract them in copious amounts like you used to, according to your father." A small smirk made its way onto red lips as Emma's face went white.

"He told you that?" She choked out after taking a moment to process.

Tanned shoulders shrugged, "He told me that he's glad you finally settled down. I read between the lines."

The smile on Regina's face allowed Emma to gather her bearings and she calmed down easily. "You had better call Kindergarten and tell them to watch out. They're gonna have a little stud on their hands by the time I'm finished."

Regina's response was interrupted by her mother and son returning from the wine cellar. As she dropped her gaze to the table in an attempt to avoid eye contact with oldest Mills, Emma noticed the beautiful array of food that waited there for the first time. Her stomach growled, and she was thankful when nobody else in the room seemed to notice it. Seconds later, Cora went to take her seat, but her grandson quickly beat her to it. "I got it Gramma." He said happily and took hold of her chair, pulling it out with only slightly more grace than he had his mothers.

"Why thank you, my sweet Henry." The older brunette smiled and took her seat. She glanced up at her daughter to ask where the boy had learned such a thing, but he beat her to it. "Emma always pulls mommy's chair and now I can do it too!" Despite her disdain for the blonde woman sitting at her table, Cora could not help but shoot her daughter a look of approval.

The beginning of dinner passed rather smoothly, with the conversation mostly sticking to Henry and his schooling. However, when it became clear that the six-year-old had simply began repeating himself, Cora turned to the blonde sitting on the other side of her grandson. "So, Emma, what exactly is it that you do for a living?"

The older woman's intimidating gaze was almost enough to make Emma look away, but she held her ground. "I am an officer of the law."

"Well," Cora began after pausing to take a sip of her wine. "My daughter always did have an attraction to those of a lower pay grade."

"Mother!" Regina began, shocked at the woman's audacity, but Emma cut her off.

"I'm not interested in Regina for her money, nor is she interested in me for mine. We're happy together and that's all that matters to either of us."

"Yes, and I'm sure the fact that my daughter is obviously very wealthy has nothing to do with the reason why a girl your age is after someone who is ten years older with a child." Cora scoffed, and Emma's jaw visibly tensed at the accusation.

"Please stop accusing my girlfriend of using me for my money or we will leave." Regina said, the shakiness of her voice as she stood up to her mother catching Emma by surprise. Henry glanced quietly back and forth between the three adults as she tried to make sense of the heated conversation. "Emma has been nothing short of amazing to me and Henry and I will not allow you to speak to her in such a way."

"Fine, I won't speak anymore of her work. However, I am simply dying to know, Regina, when exactly did you become a lesbian?" Emma nearly choked on the bite of pork that she had just put into her mouth but quickly composed herself.

"I…" Regina began before pausing to gather her thoughts. "I liked women in high school mother, you knew this. You forced me to break up with my first and only girlfriend, or do you not remember the black eye you gave me when you found out?" The brunette's eyes clouded over with tears as she relived the painful memory for a moment and then she quickly composed herself. "Henry," her voice was firm as she stood up, smoothing out her skirt, "get your things and let's go home baby." Emma helped Henry down from his chair and then made her way to stand behind Regina, resting her hand gently on the small of the older woman's back.

"Don't be ridiculous, Regina. Sit down and let's finish dinner." Regina quickly wiped at a tear that had escaped from the corner of her eye and turned to face Emma, a desperate look in her eye.

"Go." The blonde whispered, bringing a hand to rest gently on the other woman's hip. "I've got Henry."

Nodding, Regina turned and quickly disappeared from the dining room. The sound of the front door closing was heard several seconds later. Emma trained her eyes on Cora and stood up tall, her easily intimidating police officer aura taking over. "You know, you have an amazing daughter." She said as Henry returned with his backpack. "She has a beautiful life and an even more beautiful son. You're really missing out by choosing not to be a part of it." Strong arms lifted the five-year-old and she transferred his backpack to her other hand. "Goodbye, Cora." She said simply before following her girlfriend out of the dining room and through the front door.

After making her way to the car, she buckled Henry into his car seat and handed him one of his toy dinosaurs to keep him entertained. Getting into the front seat, she noticed the way Regina immediately turned her body away and took it as a sure sign that the brunette was crying. She reached over for the other woman's hands and brought it to her lips for a gentle kiss. "She doesn't deserve the two of you."

* * *

Later that night after Henry was fast asleep in his bed, Regina and Emma settled down on the couch together. Emma lay flat on her back with the brunette wedged between the back of the couch and her side. She was wearing nothing but underwear and one of Emma's police department t-shirts that she had made her own after their first night together. The pair had originally laid down with all intentions of watching a movie, but neither could focus.

"You're thinking very loudly, Gina." The blonde said softly, running the palm of her hand over the other woman's back.

"It's been an interesting day, dear. I simply have a lot on my mind." She slipped her hand under Emma's shirt to stoke the taut skin there as she spoke. Her mind kept replaying the events of the day, as well as the nineteen years she'd spent under Cora's roof before meeting her husband.

"Such as?" a blonde eyebrow raised. She opened her mouth to speak again but Regina cut her off.

"It's nothing, Miss Swan." She said with an exasperated sigh and quickly moved herself off of the couch. "I need a moment." With that, tanned legs quickly carried Regina out of her living room and up the stairs, leaving the tall blonde on her couch utterly confused. Deciding it best not to bother the older woman for a while, Emma did her best to focus on the movie. However, when thirty minutes passed with no sign of Regina coming back, she begrudgingly made her way up the stairs and to the end of the hall where Regina's bedroom was located. The door slightly open, but not enough that Emma could get a glimpse inside. Sighing, she lifted a pale fist and knocked.

"What is it, baby boy?" a strangely fragile voice called from the other side.

"It's not Henry." Emma said simply, unsure if Regina could hear her through the heavy wooden door. Her response was barely audible, but the blonde took the opportunity to push the door the rest of the way open and step inside. She found Regina sitting cross legged in the middle of her bed staring down at a picture frame which Emma knew contained a picture of a newborn Henry and his father. Smiling sadly, she made her way over to sit next to her girlfriend on the bed, mirroring her position. "You miss him, don't you?"

"Every day." Regina nodded, cheeks turning red as she realized such a confession probably wouldn't benefit their relationship. "I-I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Regina. He was your husband and the father of your child, and I can tell just by looking at your pictures that he loved you and Henry so very much."

A single tear fell from dark brown eyes. "He was always my best friend. He… he rescued me from her." She laughed miserably and shook her head, trying to gain control of her emotions.

"I'm sure he was an amazing man." Emma smiled, studying the picture in front of them. "I'm so sorry that you and Henry had to go through something like that."

"Nick was never really passionate about having kids. He only agreed to Henry because I wanted it so badly, but in the end, he was a good dad." Dark hair draped over Emma's shoulder as the older woman rested her head on it. Unshed tears remained in the corners of her eyes, but she seemed to be calming down.

"He was also an incredibly lucky man to have such an amazing family. It doesn't get any better than you and Henry." Pale lips pressed a gentle kiss to the older woman's forehead.

They sat in silence for a few moments before Regina spoke again, "His birthday would be Monday. I usually go visit him alone on special days, so Henry doesn't see me upset… he still isn't quite old enough to understand…" she trailed off for a moment, as if considering whether or not she should continue. "You're welcome to join me if you'd like but please do not feel like you have to." She spit out quickly before she could change her mind.

"I would love to come." Pale lips placed a soft kiss on a tanned forehead. "You can introduce us."

"Thank you for being so understanding. I love you." Regina admitted for the first time.

Green eyes widened as Emma momentarily panicked. The only people she'd ever loved in her life were her parents and her brother. Besides them, nobody else had cared enough to stick around and get to know her. For a split second, she questioned whether or not she was capable of trusting Henry and Regina enough to love them. However, after looking into the deep brown eyes of the woman she had grown incredibly close two in the last five months, Emma's fears dissolved. "I love you too." She whispered.

Before either woman could speak again, the shrill sound of Emma's work phone erupted from the pocket of her sweat pants. "Their timing literally could not get any worse." She pouted for a second before digging the device out of her pants pocket and answering the call. "Swan." She answered as Regina rubbed soft circles into her back. "Okay… Okay… I'll be ready in ten. Bye." Emma ended the call and smiled sympathetically back at her girlfriend. "David's on the way to get me for a domestic disturbance call."

"It's okay, my love." Regina leaned forward on her knees to place a kiss on a pale cheek. "I'm going to have a shower and get into bed. Will you come back after work please? You can take my keys in case I'm sleeping."

"Of course." The blonde nodded, kissing a tanned forehead before standing up and starting to change into the uniform that she kept at Regina's house in case she ever got called in. "See you soon, babe."

Emma slipped her jacket over her shoulders as she made her way outside to her partner's parked car. "What's the situation?" she asked after getting in, gladly accepting the cup of coffee Daniel was holding out to her.

"The guy is holding a gun on his wife and won't let her leave the premises, neighbors heard the screaming and called it in. According to DSS, there's a foster kid in the house – two years old – no word on whether or not she's okay yet."

"Shit." Emma sighed, shaking her head. She knew what it was like to live in an abusive foster home. "How far out?"  
"Ten minutes." Daniel flicked on his sirens and they sped down the street, leaving a very concerned brunette standing at the window. Exactly ten minutes later, they pulled into the driveway of a rundown old house, the only other sign of life there being the black truck parked in front of them. Both officers quietly exited the cruiser and made their way to the front door while their backup went around the house. Peeking in the window, Emma could see a tall, dark man pacing back and forth with a gun in his hand in front of a woman who was huddled on the floor with a child in her arms. Positioning himself, Daniel glanced at Emma to ensure she was in position before forcefully kicking the door in.

"Police! Drop your weapon!" Emma shouted, storming into the house behind her partner with her firearm locked on the aggressor.

Reacting quickly, the man grabbed his wife and pulled her body in front of his, pointing the gun to her head. "Get out of here or I'll shoot her!" he shouted, his eyes wild with a combination of rage and alcohol. Emma's heart broke for a split second as she watched the crying toddler crawl behind the couch to hide before her attention snapped back to the man in front of her.

"Look, Mr. Wallace, you need to put your weapon down and let your wife go so that we can all walk out of here alive. You're only in trouble if she gets hurt." She calmly lied, slowly inching her way closer to the couch to shield the little girl's body from the line of fire.

"You're a liar! They'll take me to jail either way! I might as well kill her and the little brat!" George Wallace shouted loudly, tightening his grip on his wife's body. Tears streamed down her cheeks and the toddler could be heard sniffling from behind the couch.

"Sir, please calm down. Let your wife and daughter go and we'll all sit down and talk about this." Daniel spoke up, his weapon still trained on the assailant.

"Fuck you! That bastard child is not my daughter, she's nothing but a check." the large bearded man pulled his wife tighter against him and pointed his gun at Daniel. Instantly reminded of her promise to his wife, Emma launched herself in front of her partner just as a shot rang out.

"What the hell, Swan?" Daniel groaned after finally registering her weight on top of him.

"I promised Elizabeth I wouldn't let you get shot a second time." The blonde said simply, quickly getting back into an upright position and rushing over to where George Wallace's wife was holding pressure to his shoulder wound.

"What have you done to him?" she cried as Emma kicked his weapon away and the other officers, one of which had done the shooting, stormed into the house.

"We did you and that little girl a favor." Emma snarled, allowing her partner to cuff the injured man while she made her way towards the sniffles coming from behind the couch. She spotted a little girl with dark brown hair crouched into a ball with her hands over her ears and kneeled in front of her. "Hey, sweetheart. You can uncover your ears now if you'd like. You're safe now." A pair of bright blue eyes finally slid open and the little girl looked curiously at Emma for a few seconds before dropping her hands from her ears and quickly scooting away. "It's okay, you're safe now." She spoke softly and held her hand out to the scared toddler. "My name is Emma, what's yours?"

"Isabewwa." The response was barely a whisper.

"Well hello, Isabella. Would you like to come home with me for tonight?" Emma offered without thinking the plan through. She had no foster license and it would take a miracle for Isabella's social worker to let her take the girl home. However, when she visibly relaxed at the offer, Emma continued, "We'll get you some dinner and a nice warm bed to sleep in."

After a few brief moments of contemplation, Isabella held her arms out for the tall blonde to pick her up. Emma quickly complied and held the girl close to her body as she stood, careful to shield her face from the bloody scene in front of them. She could hear sirens in the distance and knew an ambulance was on the way to pick up George Wallace. Cradling the toddler in pale, muscular arms, Emma stepped out the back door of the house and onto the porch, internally groaning when she saw the DSS agent getting out of her car. Being a child of the system had really turned her against those people.

"Good afternoon, officer." The tall, skinny African-American woman said as she made her way up the steps. "I see you've met Isabella."

"Yes, ma'am." Emma nodded respectfully, eying the other woman warily as she stepped closer. "I was just about to take her to the hospital for a check-up. As you can see a lot has taken place here tonight."

"Yes, I can see that," she paused for a moment to glance at Emma's nametag, "Officer Swan. I will go inside and gather a few of Isabella's things and meet you at the hospital. Once she's checked over we'll need to place her in a group home for the night until we can find another foster family willing to take her."

"I can take her." Emma offered up quickly after hearing the other woman's explanation. She knew first-hand what group homes were like and she was not willing to risk the child going to one where she could possibly go said period of time without adequate food or a bath. "I mean, I don't have a foster license, but I am an officer of the law. My dad is the chief of police and my girlfriend is a lawyer. All of that has to count for something, right?"

A thin, black eyebrow raised as the words left the blonde's mouth quickly and seemingly all at once. "I suppose that does 'count for something' Officer Swan. I'll see what I can do in the next few minutes about placing her in your care for the night. We'll talk more when I get to the hospital." The woman informed Emma before disappearing into the house.

"What was all that about?" Daniel asked, having passed the social worker on the way outside.

"I want to keep the kid with me for the night so she's going to see what she can do."

"Wow, that's a shocker. I guess there are perks to daddy being David Nolan, huh?" Daniel teased her with a smirk and she playfully punched his shoulder.

"Yeah well he can't find out I used his name to make this happen or I'll be riding my desk for a month, so keep it quiet or I'll kick you're a-butt." She quickly corrected herself and the little girl in her arms giggled. "I have to get her to the hospital. You okay to ride to ride the ambulance there?"

"Yeah I'll be fine. You guys be safe." He nudged Emma's shoulder gently before heading back into the house.

"Okay, sweet girl, let's go get you checked out."

Two hours later, George Wallace had been taken to a holding cell for the night and Isabella was cleared to go home. The social worker had dropped off a car seat and a small bag of the little girl's things half an hour ago before rushing off to handle another case. Daniel was driving the two of them towards Emma's apartment when the blonde realized that her car was at Regina's and that the brunette had asked her to spend the night. "Do you mind turning around?" she asked sheepishly. "My car is at Regina's."

"No problem, Swan." He nodded and turned down a side road.

"I completely forgot to text her while we were at the hospital. She's going to kill me for showing up on her doorstep with a kid." Blonde hair pressed against the car window as Emma rested her head there.

"So don't go inside. Just grab your car and head home, you can explain things to her tomorrow." Daniel shrugged, still focused on the road.

"I promised her I'd spend the night." Pale lips mumbled before the blonde instinctively lifted her head to check on the sleeping child in the back seat. She found herself lost in the little girl for a moment, only turning back around when she heard the amused laughter falling from her partner's lips. "What's so funny?" she asked with her head cocked.

"You're like a whipped puppy." Daniel smirked, earning himself a hard punch in the arm. "Ouch! Don't be mad at me because it's true. That woman says jump and you ask how high." He turned on to Regina's street and Emma took a deep breath, knowing they'd be there in a matter of minutes. She pulled out her phone and sent the older woman a quick text to see if she was awake.

"I can't help it, I love her." A blush crept up Emma's pale neck at her admission and her partner smiled.

"I'm so glad to see you happy, Swan. You deserve this." Daniel smiled, reaching over to pat her on the shoulder. "Regina is a good woman."

"She's the best. Definitely keeps me on my toes though." Her phone vibrated in her pocket with a text back from Regina. **'Haven't been able to sleep with you out working. Come inside and put me to bed, Sheriff.'** Emma nearly groaned at the response, and then again when she realized the toddler in the back seat would stop her from doing just that. Before she knew it, Daniel was turning into the brunette's driveway and it was time to face the music. Almost immediately, Regina was out on the porch in a purple silk robe, arms huddled around herself to keep out the cold.

"Do you mind waiting here for a few minutes while I go explain this whole thing to her?" A nod and a smile from Daniel answered her question and Emma gratefully stepped out of the car. "Hey baby." She smiled as she walked up the steps.

"Hello, my love." Tanned arms wrapped around a pale neck and the older woman placed a gentle kiss on Emma's lips. "Let's go inside."

"About that.." Emma began nervously as the two pulled apart. She shoved her hands into her pockets and bit her lip. "I kind of have to tell you something."

"What is it?" the smaller woman asked, confusion etched into perfect features.

"The call we went on tonight, there was a foster kid in the house." The blonde paused for a moment and licked her lips. "Her name is Isabella, she's about two years old, has the prettiest blue eyes you'll ever see… and she reminded me so much of myself, Gina."

"So you brought her home for the night?" A dark eyebrow raised and Regina suddenly understood why Daniel had yet to leave her driveway.

"Wha- How'd you know that?" Emma furrowed her brow in confusion as a smile spread across her girlfriend's face.

"Because I know you. I know how strong your protective instincts are and I also know that you secretly have the biggest heart in the world." The brunette brought a perfectly manicured hand up to pat the taller woman's muscular chest. "Go get her."

"Thank you for being so amazing." Emma quickly kissed her cheek before jogging back to the car. She opened the back door and smiled at Daniel. "She took it really well." Was her simple explanation as she threw Isabella's bag over her shoulder. "Please don't wake up." She whispered, mostly to herself, as she gently started to unbuckle the straps on the car seat. However, her hopes came crashing down as she began to lift the little girl; blue eyes shot open and she let out a loud wail.

"Hey, don't cry baby. You're safe now, nobody will hurt you here." She clutched the toddler close to her body as she headed back toward the house. Daniel killed the car's engine and went around to grab the car seat. Regina quickly opened the front door to allow her girlfriend to bring the crying two-year-old inside. Emma did her best to sooth her, but unlike earlier, all attempts failed.

"Do you want me to try?" Regina offered, partially because she knew the noise would eventually wake her son. Nodding in defeat, the blonde handed Isabella over to her girlfriend, who immediately turned to carry her up the stairs. "Lock the door before you come up please." The brunette threw over her shoulder as Daniel made his way inside with the car seat.

After thanking her partner, bidding him goodnight, and securing the house, Emma made her way upstairs to find Regina and Isabella. As she walked down the hall, she heard soft singing and noticed that the toddler's cries were quieted.

" _Brillas, brillas, sin parar_

 _Estrellita,_ _¿dónde estás?_

 _Me pregunto_ _qué serás."_

Emma stepped into the guest room closest to Regina's just in time to hear her finish singing a song in Spanish. She noticed the child, now clad in pajamas, asleep on her girlfriend's shoulder and could not resist a smile. "Your voice is beautiful." She whispered as she made her way over to them, careful not to disturb Isabella. "How'd you manage to get her changed?"

"I think someone just needed a mother's touch." The older woman whispered, placing a gentle kiss to the girl's small forehead. "Do me a favor and pull the covers back." She stood up carefully as Emma complied and together they tucked the two-year-old into bed and placed pillows on both sides of her. Emma sat on the corner of the mattress to observe her for a few moments and Regina disappeared down the hallway, returning moments later with a baby monitor in hand. She placed it carefully on the nightstand before moving in front of the blonde and holding her hands out. "Let's go to bed, dear. She'll be alright in here."

Sighing softly, Emma took the brunette's offered hands and stood up, following her across the hall to the large master bedroom. "Thank you for that." She said softly as Regina closed the door, leaving a small crack in case Isabella came to find them during the night.

"No need to thank me. She's a beautiful child, I'm just glad you got her away from those horrible people." The brunette slipped her robe off as she spoke, putting herself on full display while she carefully draped it over the back of one of her chairs, causing a low groan to slip from Emma's throat. "Don't even think about it, Miss Swan. There's a baby across the hall that might require our attention at any moment." She bent over to pluck a pair of pajamas from one of her bottom drawers and Emma felt as if she might explode.

"That's exactly what the baby monitor is for." She pulled the door closed and made her way quickly across the room, grabbing hold of Regina's hips and eliciting a gasp of surprise. "I believe you wanted me to put you to bed, Miss Lawyer," she began as the brunette quickly turned around in her arms, "but I think I'll take you right here tonight."

Before Regina could register what was happening, she was lifted into the air and her bottom suddenly came into contact with the cool surface of her dresser. A gasp escaped her naturally dark lips and she looked up at the blonde with lust-filled eyes. "Please." A very naked Regina whimpered as the taller woman began a slow trail of kisses down her neck.

"Tell me what you want." Emma demanded as she trailed her kisses down the soft, tanned skin of her girlfriend's collar bone and sucked gently on a spot she knew to be particularly sensitive. Her grip on Regina's hips remained firm and she easily elicited a moan from the older woman when she lightly swirled her tongue around a dusky nipple.

"You." The brunette whispered as she tangled her fingers in silky blonde locks. Her legs wrapped easily around Emma's slender waist and her breath hitched as the motion caused the blonde's thigh to brush against her bare sex.

"Nice try," Emma smirked, gently nipping at the other, previously neglected nipple, "but I'm right here. You're going to have to do better than that." Regina threw her head back as the blonde lavished her chest with attention. Her nipples had always been extremely sensitive.

"Y-your tongue." The brunette whimpered again, attempting to push Emma's head down to her sex. The younger woman simply looked up at her with a raised eyebrow, silently willing her to continue. "God, Emma please!" she nearly shouted in frustration and Emma decided against keeping her waiting any longer.

"As you wish, my queen." Emerald eyes met dark brown ones for only a moment before Emma dropped to her knees on the pristine bedroom carpet. She was immediately face to face with her girlfriend's dripping sex and nearly moaned at the sight before her. "You're soaked, baby." She observed softly before kissing her way up the inside of a tanned thigh. Regina's hands wound their way back into her hair as she neared the spot where the older woman wanted her most. "Beautiful." She whispered and licked slowly up her girlfriend's slit once before pulling back and trailing her kisses down the other thigh.

"Stop. Teasing." Regina demanded through gritted teeth, attempting to push Emma's head once again. "I need you."

Those words were all the encouragement that Emma needed, and she quickly latched on to her lover's swollen clit, licking and sucking the small bundle of nerves as if her life depended on it. Red manicured nails dug into her scalp as Regina tugged at her hair, but the slight pain only encouraged the blonde. "Mine." She mumbled into the brunette's wet sex. Ignoring the burning sensation in her knees, Emma brought her hand between their bodies and slid a single digit into the other woman's slick entrance.

"Fuck me, Emma." Regina practically begged, her language catching the blonde by surprise. As another long finger slid inside of her, she nearly cried out in pleasure before remembering the two sleeping children in her house.

Pale fingers found a steady pace inside of the brunette and Emma periodically curled her fingers up to brush over the spot inside of Regina that she knew drove the other woman crazy. However, the slow pace was not nearly enough to allow her an orgasm and her frustration grew quickly. "Harder, please, I'm aching for you." The brunette's head was now resting against the mirror and her eyes were closed.

Emma felt herself growing wet at the sight of the woman above her. Sitting up a little taller on her knees, she started to pick up her pace, brushing her finger's over Regina's g-spot every time now. "Look at me." she instructed, watching as her lover's face contorted with pleasure. "Now, Regina." She repeated and brown eyes fluttered open. "Do you think you can handle another finger?" Emma asks, her request stemming from the recent revelation that, aside from Nick, she was the only sexual partner Regina ever had.

"Y-yes." She moaned, tugging harder on the blonde hair that remained trapped in her grasp. As another finger was slipped carefully inside of her, Regina felt herself nearing an orgasm. "Faster." She groaned, and Emma easily complied, her fingers pumping inside of the brunette at the fastest pace she'd ever used on her. "Oh… Emma I-I'm so close."

Long, pale fingers continued working expertly in and out of the older woman's tight sex, curling upwards with every thrust. In a few seconds more, Emma felt slick walls tightening around her fingers and knew her girlfriend was close to the edge. "Go ahead, baby, I've got you." She assured before once again taking the brunette's swollen clit into her mouth.

"Oh fuck! Emma!" Regina gasped as she fell over the edge, her thighs tightening around Emma's shoulders, holding her in place as she reached the peak of her orgasm. Thoroughly trapped in place, the blonde settled for gently stroking the inside of her girlfriend's sex as she came down from her high. When tanned thighs finally loosened their grip, the blonde stood up and placed a gentle kiss on Regina's naturally plump lips. As she moved to slip her fingers out, she was met with the older woman's hand holding hers firmly in place. "Not yet." She whispered, resting her head gently on a muscular shoulder.

"Tell me when, baby." Emma said softly, pressing a soft kiss to a slightly sweaty forehead.

Regina closed her eyes for a few moments, allowing herself the chance to calm down before opening them once again. "Okay." she nodded, and Emma slowly slipped her fingers out, causing her lover to wince slightly. "Did I hurt you?" the blonde asked, voice laced with concern.

"No, you were just harder than usual, and you filled me up more." Regina felt her partner tense at those words and quickly lifted her head to look into deep green eyes. "I loved it, dear. I'm not a doll and I won't break, you have to stop treating me like one." Tanned fingers made their way slowly through long blonde hair as she spoke. "I know how much you enjoy rough sex." She spoke softly, making Emma's cheeks flush with embarrassment and shame. "Don't be embarrassed, my love. Just because I don't have much experience doesn't mean I don't want you to throw me down and screw me until I can't remember my own name." the older woman smirked and Emma looked up at her with wide eyes, shocked at the language once again.

"You mean that?" A blonde eyebrow raised in question.

"Every word." Regina smiled, gently pushing the other woman back so she could hop off of the dresser. "Now come on, it's your turn."

* * *

 **Review and let me know what you guys think.**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

The rest of the weekend was spent in Regina's mansion, trying to acclimate Isabella to life in a normal home. Although Henry had been surprised to wake up on Sunday morning to his mother making breakfast with a toddler in her arms, he warmed up to the girl almost immediately and began trying to coax her out of her shell. On the other hand, Emma had spent most of her Sunday on the phone with Isabella's case worker. To her dismay, the woman would be picking up Isabella first thing Monday morning and placing her in a group home until the blonde could obtain a foster license.

After their long bout of passion the night before, Emma and Regina lay in bed until the early hours of the morning talking through the blonde's feelings on the situation. Although she was nowhere near ready to adopt and mother a child, she wanted to ensure the girl's safety until they found someone who was. To the blonde's relief, Regina wholeheartedly supported her decision.

Currently, the two women were sitting on Regina's couch with Henry between them and Isabella perched on Regina's lap, clutching a stuffed bear that Henry had graciously given her earlier that morning. The toddler had taken to Regina even faster than she had Emma, not that the blonde cared. The older brunette's singing was the only thing that seemed to calm her down when something startled or upset her.

"Mommy?" Henry asked, tugging gently on the sleeve of her shirt and effectively breaking the silence that had settled over them as a movie played on the television screen.

"What is it, my love?" Regina asked, glancing at him over the toddler's head which was resting on her shoulder.

"Can we eat ice cream?" he requested hopefully. Although Regina's first instinct was to say no, as they had just eaten ice cream a few nights ago, the way Isabella's eyes lit up at her son's mention of the treat offered no room for denial.

"Well, since you did finish all of your vegetables at dinner, I guess one bowl of ice cream won't hurt." She conceded, ruffling his hair.

"Thanks Mommy!" Henry nearly shouted, climbing down from the couch and barreled into the kitchen. After a few moments of contemplation, Isabella squirmed out of her lap and toddled after him

"Did you just agree to ice cream for the second time this week?" Emma asked, one eyebrow raised as she reached out to feel Regina's forehead for a fever. "What's the catch?"

"No catch." She smiled, playfully swatting the blonde's hand away as she stood up from the couch. "Isabella just got really excited when he mentioned it and I couldn't disappoint her after all she's been through this weekend." A sigh passed both sets of lips as they were reminded of the young girl's situation.

"You're going soft." Pale lips twisted into a smirk as Regina's mouth fell open.

"I am not! I just… you didn't see the look in her eyes, Emma." Regina finished with a whine but before the blonde could respond there was a loud clatter in the kitchen.

"Henry Daniel! What in the world was that?" The sharpness in her voice made Emma wince and she quickly followed behind the older woman as she rushed off to see what happened.

When the pair entered the kitchen, they found Isabella standing in the middle of the kitchen floor. Her small body was frozen in fear and her hands covered her eyes as tears trailed down her cheeks. There was a glass bowl shattered on the floor directly in front of her and Henry was kneeling on the ground about to pick it up.

"Henry! You know better than to touch broken glass!" Regina rushed over to the two of them, but her shouting caused Isabella to cower behind the island in fear. She quickly picked Henry up and moved him away from the broken shards, which Emma immediately began to sweep up. "What in the world possessed you to try and pick that up, young man? You know better." Her tone was harsh, surprising both Emma and her son.

Looking down at his sock clad feet, Henry began to explain himself, "Bella wanted to hold her bowl, but she dropped it" His cheeks flushed bright red. "It broke and she got scared, mommy. I-I was picking it up… so she wouldn't hurt her feet… because she's little."

Regina's anger melted away at her son's explanation and she pulled him into a hug. "You are such a sweet boy, but you are also still little. The next time something breaks please call me or Emma first, okay?"

Emma's heart fluttered at being included in the family moment and she smiled, quickly dumping the broken glass into the trash can and placing the broom in its proper place.

"I promise." Henry nodded before stepping past her and over to where Isabella was kneeling in the corner. He wrapped his arms around her in a hug and kissed her cheek. "It's okay, Bella. Mommy and Emma aren't mad, and we can still have ice cream."

Regina felt her heart swell at the sight before her and she watched the two children with eyes full of admiration. For a second, she thought about what life would be like if she and Emma adopted the little girl together. She had always wanted another child, and there was no doubt how much she loved Emma. Sighing, Regina silently reminded herself of Emma's words the night before, " _I want the kid to go to a good home, but I'm just not ready to be a parent."_ The blonde's confession worried Regina more than she thought it would. She wanted to know what that would mean for their future, but it was obviously not an ideal time to ask.

Strong arms wrapped around a tanned midsection and Emma's head came to rest on her shoulder, drawing Regina out of her thoughts. "They're so cute together." she mumbled into the brunette's ear, both observing as Henry wiped Isabella's eyes. In all honesty, despite the fact that she'd only met the little girl yesterday, part of Emma never wanted to let her go. However, after everything she had been through as a child, Emma did not see herself as capable of being a good influence. As a matter of fact, it still surprised her when Regina trusted her to care for Henry alone.

"I know." Regina said with a smile, leaning back into the muscular body behind her as Henry slowly coaxed the toddler from her hiding place. "Henry would make an amazing big brother." She hinted subtly and felt Emma tense slightly behind her.

Before she could speak again, Henry made his way over with Isabella trailing slightly behind him. "Ice cream now?"

"Of course." His mother smiled, kneeling down and holding her arms out to the now smiling toddler. "Come on, my sweet babies, let's go wait on the couch while Emma gets our ice cream." She lifted the small girl into her arms and held her hand out for Henry to take, smirking slightly at the blonde in front of her.

"You are an evil woman." Emma teased, smacking her girlfriend's backside as the trio made their way past her. Smiling to herself, she grabbed the ice cream from the freezer and dipped two small bowls for both children and a larger one for her and Regina to share. "Here you go, guys." She placed Henry's bowl in his lap and handed Isabella's to Regina, who opted to feed the toddler to prevent a mess on the couch.

"Here, babe." The blonde said after a few moments of comfortable silence, offering a spoonful of ice cream to Regina.

"No thank you." The older woman declined politely.

"What do you mean 'no thank you'?" Emma frowned. "Do you have something against ice cream, woman?" A blonde eyebrow raised as she cleaned the dessert off of the spoon herself.

"No, my love, I have something against the weight I will gain if I allow myself to indulge in such things." The brunette said simply, eyes on Isabella as she offered her another bite.

"What do you mean? It's only a little bit of ice cream." Emma said, somewhat insensitively.

"'Emma, you still have the metabolism of a teenager and you have not given birth to a child." Regina sighed. "Stretch marks, extra fat, and less than perky breasts are not attractive, especially to someone your age, and since I currently display all of those traits, I have to at least be wary of what I eat." The older woman focused her attention on the television with a sigh, obviously avoiding eye contact.

Emma's frown grew at the brunette's statement. "Gina, you know that isn't true, right?" she asked, feeling the age difference between the two of them for the first time. When the brunette simply ignored her, Emma sighed heavily and turned to Henry. "Hey bud, do you think you'll be okay here with Isabella while your mommy and I clean up?"

An enthusiastic nod from a miniature version of Regina had the blonde standing up to gather the bowls, her own still mostly full. Reluctantly, the older woman moved the toddler from her lap and followed her into the kitchen. She immediately made her way over to the sink, turning on the hot water and preparing to wash the dishes.

"Regina," Emma put the used bowls into the sink full of hot water and then snaked a pale arm around the other woman's waist. "talk to me."

"There's nothing to talk about." The lawyer said coldly, reaching under the counter for a sponge.

Frustrated, Emma reached out to shut off the water and took the sponge from her girlfriend's hand. She set the offending object aside before using her strength to lift the older woman up onto the counter and moving to stand between her legs. "Look at me." the blonde demanded without aggression, but when Regina refused to comply she took hold her chin and lifted it up, forcing their eyes to meet.

"Listen to me." she rasped, and despite her current feelings, Regina felt her sex clench at the authority in the younger woman's voice. " _You_ are the most beautiful woman to ever walk this earth. I don't care that you have stretch marks, I don't care that your stomach isn't all muscle, and I don't care that your breasts look different than they used to. I love your body, Regina, and I would love it even if you carried ten more kids because it's yours. There's no other woman in the world I'd rather see naked or make love to all the time, because none of them compare to the one in front of me." By this time the brunette's heart rate had increased and her eyes were darkened with lust. "Now cut the shit, because if you ever talk about the woman I love like that again, I will taze your ass." Emma finished with a smirk.

"God I love you." Regina murmured before attacking pale lips with a passionate kiss. Tanned arms wrapped around the younger woman's neck and the two remained there, lips locked, for several more minutes.

"And I love you." Emma smiled, placing one last kiss to her girlfriend's lips before stepping back. "Now come on, let's go get the kids ready for bed so I can take _you_ to bed."

A bedtime story for Henry and two lullabies for Isabella later, both children were asleep. "Well, what do you think of life with two kids?" Regina asked after her bedroom door was closed. Standing behind Emma, she wrapped her arms around the taller woman's neck and placed a soft kiss to the side of it.

"Well, it's different." The blonde smiled, turning to face her girlfriend. "It's cute how fast Henry became protective of her though."

"Yes well, you're amazing with both of them. Sometimes it's hard to believe you're only twenty-two." Sighing softly, Regina stepped over to her dresser to search for a set of pajamas.

"Foster care does that to people, baby. That's why I've been so adamant about having Isabella stay here with us. I know I can't save them all, but most of the time people cross paths for a reason." Emma said, quickly stripping down to her underwear and sports bra before throwing herself onto Regina's king-sized bed. "Besides, I don't see it as a bad thing. Right now, I am happier than I've ever been. I have amazing parents, a beautiful, extremely supportive girlfriend, and a super sweet little boy in my life. I wouldn't trade my past for the world, because it's what got me here."

Sliding yet another one of Emma's t-shirts over her head, Regina let out a frustrated groan. "You know, sometimes I wonder if you're serious about these things or if it's all just part of your master plan to get in my pants." Smiling, she made her way over to straddle the blonde's hips.

"Definitely part of my master plan." Emma smirked, sliding her hands under the shirt to rest her hands on her girlfriend's tanned hips. "Hit it and quit it is my motto."

"Emma!" Regina gasped, landing a soft blow to the younger woman's chest as a blush crept up her cheeks.

"I'm joking." She laughed, quickly flipping them so that she was on top. "You know how much I love you, Gina." Long, pale fingers hooked themselves into the sides of the brunette's panties and slid them slowly down her legs before they were carelessly tossed aside.

"Yeah right. All you're worried about is getting laid." The older woman played along, lacing her fingers in blonde curls as those same pale hands made their way under her shirt and up her abdomen.

"What the hell did wear to bed before I came along?" Emma teased, dropping her head to place soft kisses along the brunette's waistline.

"Who's to say I wasn't wearing someone else's clothes to bed before you came along?" the older woman asked with an evil smirk.

"Oh really? And did this person know how to pleasure you as well as I do?" the blonde easily parted Regina's legs before trailing her kisses further down.

"Even better." The brunette countered, tugging gently at blonde curls.

Glancing down at the obvious wetness between the older woman's legs, Emma let out a laugh. "Interesting" She mumbled against a tanned inner thigh before nipping gently at the soft skin found there. "Well no matter what you did before me, this pussy is mine now." Strong fingers found the older woman's clit, massaging slow circles on the sensitive bud. "And _nobody_ will ever fuck you as well as I do." She bit down on the older woman's breast hard enough to mark her.

"Fuck." Regina whimpered, wrapping her arms around the other woman's neck and pulling her back up for a passionate kiss. "Take me, Emma." She mumbled against pale lips, now completely lost in the blonde on top of her. Emma Swan was easily the best sex she'd ever had, although Regina would never willingly say that aloud.

"As you wish, my queen." The blonde smirked, kissing her way down a toned stomach and over a few scattered stretch marks. "You are the most beautiful woman in the world." Emma whispered, trailing her kisses over her partner's slick folds before taking Regina's tight bundle of nerves into her mouth. Two slender fingers easily slipped inside of the older woman, and Emma spent the next hour drawing several orgasms out of her. Around two in the morning, the two finally collapsed into each other's arms, both exhausted and completely satisfied.

The next morning, the couple awoke to Regina's alarm blaring at six o'clock sharp. Groaning, Emma reached over the smaller woman to hit snooze and buried her head into thick brown hair. "Good morning, dear."

"M'rning." The blonde mumbled without opening her eyes. While Regina was a morning person and had woken herself a few minutes before the alarm, Emma never got out of bed without hitting the snooze button at least twice.

"You need to let me up." The older woman smiled. "I have two children to get ready this morning, and breakfast to make." With a sigh and a very over dramatic stretch, Emma finally released her hold on Regina and got out of bed. "What are you doing?" A surprised brunette asked, sitting up in bed and allowing the covers to fall from her body.

"I'm going to shower for work and then I'm going to get Henry and Isabella ready. Sorry I can't make breakfast, but I wouldn't want to risk poisoning you guys." The blonde leaned over to place a soft kiss on her girlfriend's forehead before going into the bathroom and closing the door behind her. Regina laid back with a smile. Emma somehow always managed to surprise her.

A little over an hour and a half later, all four of them were dressed, fed, and ready to go. Emma happily offered to drop Henry off at school, since it was on the way to social services, leaving Regina to ride to work alone. Just as the brunette was backing her Mercedes out of the driveway, her car phone rang and Ruby's name flashed across the radio. Smiling, the lawyer pressed the button on her steering wheel to answer the call. "Good morning, Ruby." She said, careful to pay close attention to the road.

"Morning, G. Long time no talk. I called to see if you were dead or just too busy with jailbait to give me a call back." Regina could hear her friend's smirk through the phone and could not help but roll her eyes.

"As a matter of fact, between work, Henry, and my perfectly age-appropriate girlfriend, I have been pretty busy. What happened to the old Ruby who used to drop by unannounced a minimum of two days a week?"

A small chuckle came through the phone. "I'm scared I'll walk in on you and blondie having sex… and I met someone."

"Oh, really? Tell me about this someone." Regina said, only half listening to begin with as Ruby was usually with a different woman every few weeks.

"Her name is Kathryn." The obvious smile in the other woman's voice caught Regina's attention.

"Is that all you're going to tell me?" The lawyer asked when her friend did not continue.

"Well… I think you already know her." Ruby admitted sheepishly, and Regina gasped.

"Kathryn Midas?! The woman whose son played soccer with Henry? She likes women?" Regina asked all three questions before the other woman had the chance to answer one.

"Yep, that's the one. We used to talk a lot on the days I took Henry to practice, but we sort of lost touch until she came into the restaurant a couple of weeks ago. She's having some trouble with her ex-husband, so I asked if she wanted to talk about it and well… we ended up in bed."

"Why am I not surprised?" Regina asked with an eye roll. "You better not be taking advantage of her, Ruby. That would be the same as Emma doing it to me and Henry, even after all the threats she received from _you."_

"Be quiet and listen, G. I really like her. I thought the fact that she has a kid would freak me out, but it doesn't. Kathryn is beautiful… and really smart. She makes me feel things that I've never felt before, and all I want to do is spend time with her."

"Sounds like someone's falling in love." Regina teased, knowing how much her friend despised ' _The L Word'._

"You are a grade A pain in my ass." The taller brunette groaned before finally approaching the subject she was calling about. "So I was thinking that maybe we could go on a double date. You know, so Kathryn can see that I'm a responsible person with grown up friends?"

Her request made Regina laugh. "You know, you're really just an older version of Emma… it just took you a decade longer to mature." After hearing her friend's exasperated sigh from the other end of the line, she continued. "However, I think that a double date is a lovely idea. I'll ask Emma today after work."

"Okay, thanks G! I have to clock in now, but I'll call you later." The call ends on a happy note and Regina goes into work with a smile on her face. Life was finally good.

* * *

At precisely five o'clock that afternoon, Emma parked her Volkswagen at the cemetery right next to Regina and they both exited their cars. "Hey baby." The blonde smiled, walking over to kiss her girlfriend on the cheek.

"Hello, my love. How was your day?" The lawyer asked, lacing their fingers together as they started down the cement path to Nick's grave.

"It was alright. Dropping Isabella off was a little tough. She cried and clung to me, but the woman there seemed nice and I promised her I'd be back to visit in the next couple of days." Emma bit her lip after she finished speaking. She had her fair share of experiences in group homes, and most of them were negative. "I hated to leave her there, Gina." She admitted after a knowing silence from the other woman.

"I know honey, but you can visit her every day and we'll get your foster license worked out soon. She won't have to stay in that place for long." The brunette's words of encouragement seemed to calm Emma.

"Thank you for being so amazing. I love you, Regina." She smiled, gently squeezing the tanned hand that rested in her own.

"I love you too. Thank you for coming here with me today." The older woman said gratefully as they veered off down a small path. Emma could tell they were getting close when her girlfriend's hand quickly grew sweaty.

"Of course. It'll be an honor to meet the man who helped create my favorite little boy in the world." A goofy smile took over pale lips and Regina could not help but return it.

"Sometimes I don't know what I did to deserve someone like you." The brunette admitted as they stopped in front of a tombstone marked with the last name Walsh. "This is it." She said, taking a shaky breath as she released Emma's hand to step forward and place a bouquet of twelve white roses on her former husband's grave.

Emma rested her hand on the widow's lower back to comfort her. The two stood in silence for a few moments before Regina surprised her by moving to sit against the headstone, mindful of her skirt as she did so. She leaned her head against it and closed her eyes, absentmindedly patting the spot beside of her for Emma to sit if she wished. Smiling sadly, Emma stood back and watched for a few moments, carefully observing the scene in front of her. Green eyes raked carefully over the intricate headstone before stopping abruptly on one of the minor details.

The blonde felt bile rise in her throat as date of Nick's death caught her eye. _July 12._ One of the worst days of Emma's life. Tears formed in green eyes as they landed back on the woman she loved. "I have to go."

Before Regina could respond, the blonde was gone.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

 _"How the hell did this happen?"_ Emma thought to herself as she took off towards the parking lot. _"Out of every woman in this godforsaken town, why did I have to fall for the one whose husband I helped kill?"_ Tears welled up in the blonde's eyes and quickly began to fall. Years of self-blame and hatred came rushing back as she ran, as fast as her legs would carry her, and as far away from the beautiful brunette as possible. She could faintly hear Regina calling after her, but could not force herself to turn around. Fumbling with her keys for only a moment, the blonde quickly unlocked her car door and drove off at a speed that would very likely earn her a ticket if she got caught. Unprepared to face her parents, Emma made her way to the home of the only other person in the world she could trust.

"Emma? What are you doing here?" August Booth asked after opening the door. His eyes quickly grew soft with concern as he noticed the miserable look on his best friend's face. "What happened?" The tall, dark brunette asked as he ushered Emma inside.

"My relationship is over." She stated simply, shakily running her fingers through her hair as she made her way into the messy one-bedroom apartment her friend had been living in for some years now.

"What do you mean your relationship is over? Do not tell me you cheated on her." August asked skeptically, making his way further inside and taking a seat on his worn-out brown leather sofa.

"No. What the fuck, man?" Emma asked, sulking over and throwing herself down beside of him. Pale arms crossed over a muscular chest. "I would never cheat on Regina, I love her."

"Well then what happened?" He asked, grabbing his half-finished beer from the coffee table and passing it to his friend.

"Everything was perfect, Aug. Regina and I were happy, her kid loves me, and we even started talking about moving in together last week." Emma breathed out a heavy sigh before taking a long drag from the beer bottle. "Then today I went with her to the cemetery to visit her ex-husband. It was the first time I've ever been and well… now I wish I never had."

"What do you mean, Emma? What could have possibly happened to mess things up at a _cemetery?"_ August asked, rolling his eyes at the blonde's seemingly overdramatic reaction to the situation. "Please don't tell me you were jealous of a dead guy?"

"No! Again, what the fuck, August? Can you shut up and listen for a second?" Emma growled, but the involuntary tears which welled up in her eyes were enough to stop the jokes. August fell silent as she went on. "I told you before that Regina's husband was killed by a drunk driver, but she and I have never actually discussed the night of his death so that's really all I knew. Then today, when I saw the headstone…" the blonde paused, slightly choked up, before swallowing back her tears and forcing herself to continue. "The date was July 12, two and a half years ago almost exactly to date."

A few moments of heavy silence later, August finally worked out what his best friend was trying to tell him. "Killian?"

"Killian." Emma affirmed, placing the bottle of beer back on the table and leaning forward to rest her head in her hands.

"Emma," August sighed, resting a strong hand on her back and rubbing soft, gentle circles against it. "You've worked so hard to put that night behind you, please do not let this destroy your progress. I know that it seems like the end of the world, but you need to speak to Regina about this. You have no way of knowing how she feels until you do. Besides, no matter how hard you work to convince yourself that it's not true, you did not kill the man. Nothing that happened that night was your fault."

"Don't you get it?" the blonde nearly shouted, piercing green eyes lifting to meet deep blue ones. "Regina isn't going to care that I wasn't driving the car. She isn't going to care that I begged Killian not to get behind the wheel and she definitely isn't going to give a fuck about the fact that I have spent the last three years of my life regretting ever leaving home that night. All she's going to see is the fact that I was in the car with the man who killed her husband – her best friend – and _that_ is going to make her hate me."

"That woman is in love with you, Emma. She loves you just as much, if not more, than you love her and, frankly, I don't think you're giving her enough credit." August sighed. "Obviously she's moved on, or she wouldn't have started dating you in the first place."

"I can't risk that, August," Emma sighed. "A lot of people have walked away from me in my lifetime, including my own parents, but not once have I ever felt as afraid to lose someone as I do right now. If I tell her and she hates me, I won't survive it. At least this way I get to hold onto all of the good memories of her loving me back." Although her logic was twisted, August expected nothing less. In the whole decade which they had been friends, he had never once seen Emma take to someone as she had Regina and Henry. Even David and Mary Margret had to fight tooth and nail for over a year to gain the blonde's trust.

"I think that you need some time to think this over before making any major decisions. You're welcome to stay the night here if you'd like, but either way you need to eat, sleep, and probably call your therapist." A strong arm wrapped around the blonde and she allowed herself to momentarily relax into the embrace of her best friend.

"Would you mind if I crashed here for a few days?" she whispered.

"One week, Emma. You have one week to figure out how to straighten this whole mess out. I don't mind you staying here while you do it, as long as you call your therapist and your mother." August knew Emma better than anyone, and he knew that if he didn't force her to take a step in the right direction, she would push everyone away and let herself completely fall apart… again.

"Deal." She nodded, reaching out for another sip of her best friend's beer.

* * *

Regina did not return home until nearly midnight that night. After making her way to Ruby's and crying in the taller woman's arms for nearly four hours, she had fallen asleep on the other woman's couch, where her best friend allowed her to stay as long as she could. At around eleven thirty, Ruby woke the lawyer up to send her home to her son. Despite her very lengthy nap, Regina remained exhausted. Upon returning home, Regina quickly relieved the babysitter and looked in on Henry before going to her own room to change. Minutes later, she was perched on the edge of her bed applying lotion when she heard tiny footsteps creeping down the hallway.

Looking up, Regina saw her son appear in the doorway, tiredly rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Mommy!" he smiled upon seeing that she was finally home.

"Hello, my little prince." His mother smiled, holding her arms out and scooping him up as soon as he ran into them. "What are you doing awake?"

"I missed you, mommy." Henry mumbled, wrapping his small arms around her neck and burying his head there. "Where's Emma?" His next question elicited a sharp intake of breath from Regina and she closed her eyes to hold back involuntary tears.

"Emma is sleeping at her house tonight, my love." She mumbled into her son's hair, holding him close to her for comfort. Although her world was falling apart in front of her once again, Regina knew she had to be strong for the one person who would always depend on her.

"Don't be sad, mommy. I'll sleep with you." The six-year-old offered happily, quickly climbing out of his mother's arms and underneath the covers on her bed.

"Of course you can sleep with me, baby." Regina smiled sadly, pulling the covers back enough to get under them before reaching over to turn out the lamp. "Goodnight, Henry." She whispered, dropping a soft kiss to her son's forehead.

"Night night, Mommy." He mumbled before quickly succumbing to the pull of sleep.

* * *

Emma spent the next five days crashing on August's couch, alternating between the two outfits she had in her locker at work and only eating processed junk food that she knew her both her mother and Regina would strongly disapprove of. She spent most of the week drunk and avoiding her cell phone like the plague as the influx of messages from both Regina and her parents proved to be too much to handle. However, when her mother finally left a message claiming that she would have her father send out a search party if they did not hear from her by midnight, she had no choice but to return home.

No sooner than Emma had made it into the safety of her apartment and grabbed a beer from her refrigerator was there a knock at the door. "Emma Grace Swan! Open this door right now unless you want it forcibly removed from the hinges!" Mary Margaret shouted from the other side.

After a very loud, very teenage-like groan, Emma forced herself up from the couch and made her way back to the apartment door. She snatched it open with a roll of her eyes and green orbs quickly met angry brown ones. "What do you want?"

"Where the hell have you been, young lady? If you choose to pack up and stay at your girlfriend's house for a week at the time then so be it, but the next time you ignore my phone calls I'll… I'll send your father to handle things!" Mary Margaret belted out, followed by an exasperated sigh. "You scared me, Emma. I thought something had happened to you."

"David and I work in the same building, all he had to do was walk downstairs. I've been at work every day this week." The young officer's tone was cold as she turned her back on her adoptive mother and made her way back into the apartment. Emma knew she was self-destructing, but had no energy or desire to stop it.

The brunette followed immediately, "What on earth has gotten into you, Emma? Did you and Regina have a fight?" She closed the door gently before making her way to the apartment's small kitchen, where her daughter was pacing.

"I don't want to talk about it, okay? Not everything in my life revolves around Regina. I'm not even sure I like her that much anymore." The blonde lied easily, deciding to do damage control rather than let her parents find out the truth.

"Emma…" Mary Margaret sighed disappointedly. Although she had been less than supportive of her daughter's relationship at first, seeing how her time spent with Regina and Henry changed Emma for the better had quickly changed her mind. "What do you mean by that? Is there someone else?"

"I… I don't know, okay? We might break up. I'm not cut out for a relationship, let alone to be a parent. Regina is too old for me. We might as well just face the facts now before one of us gets seriously hurt. It just isn't going to work out mom. I was happier with the way things were before Regina and Henry came along." It hurt Emma to say such things, but she knew the only way to get her mother off her back was to make her very, very angry.

"Oh and I suppose you think it's going to work out with one of the other skimpy whores who you used to bring around before you met Regina? You want to give up everything the two of you have built together in the past few months to go sleep around with some women who you barely know? I really thought you had grown out of that childishness, Emma." The disappointment dripped from the older woman's voice and Emma felt as if she were about to explode.

"You know what, Mom? You're right about something there. I am a grown ass woman and I will do what I damn well please. I'm better off without Regina, and she's better off without me. Now would you please get out of my apartment so I can have a minute to breathe?" The blonde knew she was hurting her mother, but she was very quickly reaching her breaking point.

Without another word, Mary Margaret stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her so hard that the pictures shook on the walls. Tears stung Emma's eyes as she slowly slid down the kitchen wall she had been leaning against. Months of progress went quickly down the drain as she reached into the cabinet closest to her and pulled out an unopened bottle of tequila. "It should have been me." she thought as the tears began to fall.

Three weeks of crying and drinking herself into a daily stupor later, Emma received a call from Isabella's case worker. As much as she hated to admit it, in all of her pity she hadn't thought very much about the little girl – or getting her emergency foster license – so the phone call was accompanied with a fresh wave of guilt. The first in nearly a month which did not involve Regina. After staring blankly at her phone screen for the first three rings, Emma finally pressed the green button to answer the call and quickly sat up on her couch. "Hello?"

"Hi, Miss Swan. This is Isabella's casewor-"

"I remember you. What's up?" Emma interrupted, nervously running her fingers through her knotted blonde locks as she waited for the other woman to explain.

"Three days ago, there was an incident across the street from the group home Isabella is in. There were gunshots involved. Several of the children were playing outside when it happened and well… they seem to have really startled her. Anyways, since then the child has not eaten in days and she refuses to speak at all. She simply bursts into tears whenever anyone gets near her." The older woman sighed, "I know this is a lot to ask, but I know that you and your girlfriend made quite a bit of progress with her in the few days that she spent with you. So I was thinking that, if both of you are willing to provide signatures on some paperwork, I could get a judge to approve your emergency foster license and the child could stay with you until she's adopted."

Emma was silent on the other end of the line as she desperately tried to collect her thoughts. "Hello? Are you still there, Officer Swan?"

"Yeah, I'm here, and call me Emma." The blonde quickly spoke up as the other woman's voice interrupted her train of thought. "Would you mind if I spoke to my parents first? They already have a foster license. They fostered and then adopted me when I was younger. Helped me work through years of abuse and neglect. I think Isabella may benefit more from being with them than she would me." Emma paced her bedroom carpet, desperately hoping the woman would agree.

"If you say so, Emma. I'll need an answer as soon as possible, so I would really appreciate it if you could talk to your parents today and give me a call back tomorrow to let me know what they say."

A sigh of relief passed the blonde's lips. "Thank you so much, ma'am. I'll call you back first thing tomorrow morning."

"No problem Miss Swan. Enjoy your afternoon."

"You too." Emma said quickly, barely taking time to make sure the other woman had ended the call before quickly rushing across the hall to her parent's apartment.

"Mom are you home?" the blonde shouted, accidentally slamming the door behind her.

Startled, Mary Margaret looked up from the vegetables she was chopping in the kitchen at her daughter. "Your brother is in the middle of a nap, Emma. If you wake him then you're staying here to entertain him while I finish making dinner.

"Sorry, Ma." Emma apologized as she made her way into the kitchen. She immediately grabbed a carrot slice from her mother's work station and popped it into her mouth as she leaned against the counter. "I just came over to talk to you about something. Do you know what time David will be home?"

"No, I haven't spoken with him since this morning before he left for work. You're still welcome to talk to me though. It's nice to see that you've finally gotten off of your couch and put down that bottle." The older woman smiled softly.

"Well, I just got a call from Isabella's case worker that made me realize I should have gotten off of my ass weeks ago." Emma replied, reaching back into her mother's bowl of cut vegetables only to have her hand slapped away. "I want to apologize for the way I acted a few days ago. I had a lot going on and I was upset, but I had no right to take that out on you and I'm really sorry." The blonde's guilt-ridden features were enough to melt away the last bit of anger her mother was holding on to.

"That's quite alright, honey. I understand and I'm not mad. Now, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Well, like I said, Isabella's case worker called this morning and she really isn't doing well at that group home, Ma. She won't speak and she gets triggered any time there's a loud noise or someone tries to touch her. She needs to be with someone who can actually help her until we find someone willing to adopt her, and as much as I want to be the one to do it, there's no way they'll grant me an emergency license. So I was just wondering if maybe you and David would be willing to let her stay here for a while?" The blonde spoke without looking up. As much as she hoped that her adoptive parents would agree to the proposal, she really had no idea what their reaction would be.

A soft sigh left Mary Margaret's lips and she laid down her knife before slowly looking up at her daughter. "Look, Emma, as much as I hate to say this, your father and I aren't going to be able to take the child in." She quickly dried off her hands before reaching a hand out to touch her daughter's knee.

Despite her best efforts, disappointment quickly spread over Emma's face, "Why not, Ma? It would only be for a little while and you guys have the extra room."

"Not for long we don't." The older woman said softly, biting her lip as she waited for her daughter to register what she was saying.

Emma slowly looked up; confusion having taken over her features. "What do you mean not for long?"

"Well I haven't told your father yet, so please try to keep quiet about this until I do…" the brunette sighed softly. She reached up and gently pushed a loose strand of blonde hair behind her daughter's ear. "I'm pregnant, Emma." Mary Margaret admitted, quickly scanning her daughter's face for a reaction.

"You're what?!" Emma accidentally shouted, startling the short-haired woman in front of her. "Sorry, mom." The blonde quickly caught herself and reached out to rest her hand on her mother's shoulder. "That's so great. I know you and dad always wanted three kids and I am incredibly happy for you." She smiled, pulling the older woman in for a hug. "How far along are you?"

"I'm guessing somewhere around six weeks. I have an appointment with the doctor next week to confirm, and after that I'll tell your father." A smile graced Mary Margaret's soft features as she pulled slightly back from the hug and looked into her daughter's eyes. "I'm sorry that we can't take Isabella in. I know how much she means to you, but I would hate to take her in just to have to send her away in a few months to make room for a new baby. This apartment only has two bedrooms as it is. It just wouldn't be fair."

"I know, mom. It's okay." Emma smiled softly. "I'll figure it out, there's no need to worry."

"You're the strongest person I know, Emma, and I am so incredibly proud of you. I know you'll manage to find that child a forever home. You never have been one to give up easily." Mary Margaret smiled, placing a gentle kiss on her daughter's cheek before going back to her dinner preparations.

 _"Too bad I'm not the strongest person I know."_ Emma thought to herself, mind drifting to the woman who was single handedly raising a young child after enduring a horribly abusive mother, the loss of her husband, and now being abandoned by the woman who had promised never to abandon her. "Thanks, mom." The blonde said, hopping down from the counter. She knew exactly what she had to do. "I have to go now, but I'll see you soon."

"Will you be back around for dinner, honey?" Mary Margaret called as her daughter made her way to the door.

"Not tonight, but I promise to eat with you guys tomorrow after my shift. Love you!" Emma called as she headed out the front door. She needed to talk to Regina, but she had no idea how she was going to work up the courage. She had completely abandoned the love of her life with absolutely no explanation and she was sure the woman would slam the door in her face. However, it was the only other idea she could come up with to save Isabella, so she had to try.

Finally, by nine o'clock that night, Emma had worked up the courage to go talk to Regina. After pulling on a hoodie and a pair running shorts and sweeping her unruly hair into a messy ponytail, the blonde grabbed her keys from their spot near the door and headed downstairs. She was lost in thought for most of the drive, which resulted in more than one angry driver honking at her when she failed to notice a light turn green or fell below the speed limit. Her heart started to beat faster as she turned onto Mifflin Street, and by the time she neared the older woman's house, Emma was pretty confident it was about to beat out of her chest. When she finally got close enough to notice that Regina's bedroom light was still on, Emma felt terror and relief wash over her at the same time.

She pulled her yellow beetle into the mansion's driveway and immediately killed the engine as to avoid alerting Regina of her presence before she was ready to go inside. Sighing heavily, Emma rested her head against the steering wheel and closed her eyes. She was not ready to see Regina. She was not ready to face what she had done, or to have the woman she loved look at her with hatred in her eyes, but she had to do something for Isabella.

Jerking her keys from the ignition, Emma mustered up enough courage to carry herself to the front door at a near jog and quickly rang the doorbell before she had a chance to change her mind and turn back. A few long moments passed before the faint sound of footsteps could be heard on the other side of the door.

When the heavy wood door finally swung open, both women let out a gasp. A long silence remained as each of them took the opportunity to look each other over. Emma's pain had manifested itself as a lack of sleep and an alcohol problem, which left her with dark circles under her sunk in eyes. However, the same circles often appeared when she worked a double shift, and over all she still seemed to be the same Emma, much to Regina's dismay.

On the other hand, the older woman looked much worse for the wear. Her hair had not been washed in days and was pulled into a short pony tail behind her head. Her usually perfectly made up face was completely bare and tear stained, with bags under her eyes that could easily give Emma's a run for their money. She wore yoga pants and one of Emma's shirts, which seemed to hang even looser on her than usual, which, unbeknownst to Emma, was due to the fact that she'd skipped nearly every meal since the day Emma left.

"What are you doing here?" a broken voice asked as fresh tears welled up in brown eyes. The blonde's heart broke at the sight and she wanted nothing more than to pull the frail-looking woman into her arms, but she resisted. "Go home, Emma." The brunette tried to sound firm but her voice betrayed her.

"Listen, Gina, I know you hate me, and probably never want to see me again, but we have to talk." the taller woman sighed heavily. "I can explain."

"No. You do not get to call me Gina and you _certainly_ do not get to make me feel as if I have to talk to you." Regina shouted, taking Emma by surprise. "You left me, Emma. After all the promises you made me and Henry, you left us just like everyone else." A sob racked the older woman's body. "How could you possibly explain that?" she choked out, wrapping her arms around herself and leaning against the doorframe for support.

"Regina, I know that I fucked up and disappointed you and Henry, but please believe me when I say that the two of you are better off without me." Emma shoved her hands into her pockets to avoid pulling the brunette into her arms.

"Yes, Emma, we are certainly better off alone than we ever were here with you." Regina rolled her eyes, voice laced with sarcasm. "I absolutely love going to bed alone at night, and my son would much rather play soccer alone in the backyard than he would with you."

"You don't need me, Regina. I'm no good for anyone. I always disappoint the people I love. I was never worth your time and it's better than you realize that now instead of later, when we've gotten too far into this to turn back."

"You never disappointed me, Emma. Aside from my son, I care more for you than anyone else in the world. Too bad that feeling was not mutual." The brunette tried. She understood that Emma's past had taken a serious toll on the woman both mentally and physically, but as much as she wanted to be understanding, she could not see a way to sympathize with the younger woman at that moment.

"Regina, please don't make this harder than it has to be." Emma felt her own tears beginning to form.

"Fine. What can I help you with then, Miss Swan?" the brunette asked, venom dripping from every word.

Swallowing her emotions, Emma tried her best to focus on the reason she had returned to the mansion in the first place. "Look, Regina, I know you hate me right now, but I need your help." The blonde began, rocking nervously on her feet. "Isabella isn't doing well at the group home they placed her in. She needs to be with someone who cares for her and well, I may not be the smartest or the most responsible person around, but I know exactly what she's going through right now and I want to help. It'll just be for a few weeks until we can find someone to adopt her. She's still just a baby and people love to adopt babies… but her case worker says there's no way a judge will grant me an emergency license if I try on my own." She was rambling and she knew it, but the longer she stood there the more she feared a rejection.

"Get to your point, please." The older woman's voice was less harsh this time.

"Well, I just wanted to ask if you would co-sign some papers with me… so that I could get the license. I know it's a lot to ask, but she needs to be with someone who cares about her."

After a long pause that made Emma more nervous than ever, the brunette finally stood up straight and began to speak. "Emma, as much as I would love to help you give that little girl a home, I cannot sign those papers with you. In order for me to do so, we would have to be living together, which we aren't. I can't be legally responsible for a child that I may never even see again, and I also can't knowingly break the law when my job is to defend it. I'm sorry."

It took everything Emma had to choke back her tears, but she finally managed. "Okay. I understand. Thank you for your time, Regina. Goodnight." As she turned to walk away, a single tear fell from the blonde's eyes. She felt more helpless than ever, and the urge to have a drink was getting stronger and stronger.

"Emma?" Regina spoke softly, her voice filled with sorrow.

"Yeah?" she forced out, not turning around.

Setting all her pride aside, Regina tried what seemed to be the most obvious solution to the other woman's problem, "You could always just come back. We were happy before and we can be happy again. Then Isabella could stay here for as long as it takes to find her a home."

Emma stiffened upon hearing those words and more tears threatened to fall from the corners of her eyes. "I can't do that. I'm sorry." She choked out before nearly running back to her car, not bothering to put her seat belt on as she sped out of the driveway.


End file.
